The Eradicators
by Espeon Man
Summary: War has broken out, and no one is safe. As Spiritomb's forces draw ever nearer to victory, Leaf must race against the clock, trying to keep the resistance's head above water. Sadness reigns over all, the end seems near. Chapter 14 is now up!
1. The Beginning

**Sorry, I don't own Pokemon, nor any of the characters in this Fanfic**

I Stared at the Vulpix on the other side of the room, and he stared at me. Neither one of us moved an inch.

Then, his paw shifted, as if to take a step. Before he knew it, I had zoomed over there with Quick Attack, and hit him with a powerful Slam.

His legs left the ground, and he flew through the air, but the force of his Ember propelled him back to the ground, and he landed on his feet.

He barely had a second of rest before I was on top of him again, I landed on his back and pinned him down. He struggled, and his paw lashed out and hit my face.

Growling, I blew a puff of embers onto his hair, and it was ablaze.

"Flare! Tails! That's enough!" I jumped off the Vulpix, who was rolling around, trying to extinguish his shock of red hair.

I turned to see Magmortar, our training supervisor grinning at me.

"Hey, now." he said, "no need to get Tails killed. Save some energy for the battlefield, alright?" He ruffled my fur and walked away.

Tails had finally extinguished his head fur, and walked up beside me.

"Geez!" he said, giving me a playful shove, "go easy! I wont be as popular with the ladies without my attractive hair."

I snorted, "what ladies?"

"Hey, you never know, Flare, I could get lucky someday."

"Yeah, right, on what planet?"

"What d'you mean?" he said, adopting a hurt expression. "Well," I said, indicating his head, "you are missing some hair now, and-"

He tackled me, and we rolled about. "Come on," he said, "where's the fight you usually have?"

I grinned, "if you insist."

Ten seconds later, he was rolling on the floor again, his hair ablaze.

"Is that really the best you have?" I said, "you'll need to do better than that if you want to take my place as squad captain."

There are four squads in The Eradicators, a secret force of pokemon mercenaries.

There's Team Inferno, which I'm the captain of, on it is me, of course, Tails, a Vulpix, Flame, a Growlithe, and Cinder, a Quilava.

Team Deluge has Kingler, Seadra, Floatzel, and Croconaw. Team Forest has Leafeon, Tangrowth, Sunflora, and Bayleef. And Team Discharge has Raichu, Electabuzz, Manectric, and Luxio.

We may have to be merciless at times, but our teams are still like family, or at least, they are to me. The leader of Team Deluge treats his team like scum.

When he had put out his hair again, we started fighting. I have to admit, Tails had definitely gotten much better.

Tails is the second in command, and if anything happens to me, he's the one to take over.

When I pinned Tails down for the third time, I looked over at the Magmarizer on the wall, and it was glowing with heat.

"All right!" I called, "it's time for Dinner!" My team and I walked out of the training room and into the cafeteria, where the other teams were eating.

Leaf, a Leafeon, the leader of Team Forest, waved at me as I entered. I nodded, exasperated, and she blushed and turned back to her berries.

"Oh come on," Tails whispered to me, "Leafeon likes you, give her a chance." I shook my head. "Life isn't just about training, you know." I didn't answer.

When I was just a baby Eevee, I stumbled into the camp. Half-dead with starvation and exhaustion, Spiritomb, our leader, took me under his wing.

He was glad to do it, he always told me, but that was because I was an Eevee, not because he felt for me. I was incredibly valuable, as I could evolve into 7 different types. When I was only three years old, I was subjected to radiation from a Fire Stone.

When other pokemon, such as a Jigglypuff, are subjected to stones, it feels fine, almost good, to evolve, but an Eevee's DNA is irregular.

There are cells of all the evolutions in an Eevee's DNA, and when one is exposed to radiation from only one stone, it must first wipe out the other cells of different types, before the pokemon can evolve.

The partial destruction and re-growth of DNA is excruciating, but I took the stone without complaint, because it was Spiritomb's wish, and without his protection, where would I go? I had to make it up to him, so I trained as hard as I could every day.

Cinder reached our table first, and called, "hey! They're serving Sitrus berries today!" "Really?" asked Flame, and ran over with Tails and I.

Cinder was right, in our lunch basket were nine Sitrus berries.

The other teams looked over in shock, Those kind of berries were almost never served.

"Yup," called Magmortar, as he left the training room, "a little present for the splendid job you did on your last mission."

After we had each eaten two of the delicious berries, I caught Tails' eye, there was one berry left. Slowly, I stretched out my hand to take it, Tails slapped his paw down on mine, and scooped up the bowl.

I whacked it, and the berry went flying up. All the other teams watched as Tails jumped, but I jumped too, up onto his head, and pushed off, propelling me into the air.

Tails was pushed back to the ground, as I grabbed the berry, flipped, and landed on my feet.

I looked back at him, popped the berry in my mouth, and said, "I win."

Everyone laughed, and left the room, to go up to their beds. We tried to follow them, but Magmortar stopped us.

"What's up?" Flame asked,

"you guys have got another mission," he replied quietly, "go up to the Boss's room, he'll give you the details."

We walked into the training room again, and up to the Magmarizer.

"Inferno" I said, and the wall in front of us moved to the side, revealing an elevator.

Once we had walked in, the doors closed, and we went up.

There was a small ding, and we stepped out of the elevator, into an office.

Spiritomb was staring through the one way mirror, looking into the cafeteria, windows surrounded his office, looking into every training room.

"Yeah?" I said as I stepped out. He didn't turn around, he never did, just spoke to us as if we weren't there, as if he was talking to himself.

"I was watching your training, Flare." he said, in that expressionless, odd voice of his, "you are doing well, well enough to give you a harder mission." I exchanged exited looks with Tails.

Harder missions were only given to supervisors, we were moving up. "And Tails," he said, Tails snapped to attention, "try to care more about training than about your looks."

Tails blushed, and grinned sheepishly. "Even so," he continued, "you all are brilliant fighters."

All of us straightened slightly, compliments from Spiritomb were few and far between.

"So, to business, a well known fighter's mansion has been raided by a thief. Meanwhile, a pokemon in the same village has suddenly gotten rich, we think he is the suspect. You are to go to the village in disguise, and meet our client at his mansion, understood?"

"Yes,"

"Alright then, good luck." He vanished, and, recognizing the dismissal, I left along with my team.

**Name Guide:**

**Flare: **Because of his name, Flareon

**Tails: **Because of his 6 tails

**Flame: **That was Growlithe's original name

**Cinder: **Because of it's pre-evolution's name

**Leaf: **I don't think this one needs explaining


	2. The Village

**Whew! sorry it took so long to get the second chapter out, but there was a lot of stuff to do, so I was real busy. The good news is, SCHOOL'S OUT! so I'll have a lot more time to write.**

On the way down back into the training room, Tails jumped into the air. "Oh yeah!" he said, "we're moving up in the ranks!"I watched him, amused, "but you know, Tails," I reminded him, "missions only for supervisors are really hard."

His grin didn't flicker, "so? We can handle this, It can't be that hard."

I smiled, Flame and Cinder gave each other high fives.

"ok," said Cinder enthusiastically, "party in the Dorm tonight!"

"I like the way you think!" said Tails, patting him on the back.

"I'll get some food," he replied, "the kitchens are never kept locked."

"Good idea!" I said to Cinder, also patting him on the back. I never wanted to go to any of the parties at the base, but tonight was special, tonight was the night.

"Gee, Flare," said Tails, grinning, "it's not like you to have fun."

I didn't answer, but I flicked him in the eye with my tail.

Once we got up to the Dorm, Cinder left for the kitchens.

Tails flopped down on his bed, and was asleep in seconds.

While he snored, Flame took out one of her many Mythology books. I squinted at the side, it read _The Legend of Groudon and Kyogre._

"Why do you read those things?" I asked her, flopping down on my bed.

She raised an eyebrow at me, "you mean you never had the urge to find out how this world came to be?"

"Nope," I said, fluffing up the pillows with my paws.

"But this is interesting!" she said, flipping the book around and showing me a picture of a stone tablet with strange writing on it.

"Listen to this," she said, and began to read, "Contrary to popular belief, Groudon and Kyogre did not, in fact, create land or sea.

"According to this ancient tablet, the creator of land and sea is none other than the pokemon labeled as 'God,' Arceus.

"After the land and sea were forged, Arceus created the two legendaries to rule over them, and keep them safe."

I yawned pointedly, Flame rolled her eyes and went back to her book.

Smirking, I got up, and walked over to the bathroom connected to our Dorm.

Once I got there, I flipped over the mirror, to expose at least a dozen pictures.

I say pictures, but they were actually drawings done by a Smeargle. It didn't matter, though, they were so lifelike you couldn't call them anything else.

I took down the one picture, that, for some reason, was the most important. My father, an Espeon, and my mother, an Umbreon, sitting next to a little ball of fluff sticking out of a brown egg.

I stared at the little Eevee, so carefree and happy, nothing at all like the pokemon I had become.

I looked up at the other pictures I had obtained from my missions. There I was, on a tiny swing, being moved by my father's Psychic. I saw myself digging into a bowl of berries, smiling and laughing.

A tear rolled down my cheek, but I wiped it away, _Things are different now! _I told myself, wiping my eyes, _I'm different now. _

I heard a rustle behind me, and I spun around. I hadn't closed the bathroom door.

Tails stood at the opening, a look of bewilderment on his face. I noticed my eyes were still wet, but I didn't dare wipe them, in case Tails noticed my tears.

His eyes moved to the mirror containing the pictures, and the puzzlement disappeared from his face. He smiled, and left the room. Tails may be an idiot sometimes, but he's a nice guy.

I was the first one out of bed, owing to the fact that I ate the least last night.

When I shook Tails awake, he rolled out of bed, groaning. "I will never eat that much ever again!" he said, groggily rising to his feet.

"Well," I said, tapping Flame on the shoulder, "I'm sure Cinder will envy you, he ate twice as much as you did."

When we were all awake, we went down to the cafeteria for an early breakfast, Cinder, his stomach bulging, trudging behind us.

"Why do we have to eat breakfast?" he complained, "I never want to see another berry ever again."

"Because," I explained, without turning around, "some of us aren't always pigging out. Honestly, you were still eating at 4 in the morning!"

"Which is about the time we got up!"

"Oh, shut up."

As I walked into the room, a small parcel on our table caught my attention. I walked over to it, and called, "Hey, guys, come have a look at this."

It was a small box filled to the brim with berries. A small note was attached to the parcel, it read _Good luck on your mission, Leaf_.

I could barely believe my eyes, sitting on top of the note was a Rowap berry!

"Whoa!" came Tail's voice from behind me, "is that what I think it is? Those are really rare!"

I turned to face him, he was reading the note attached. He looked up at me and shook his head, "C'mon, it's obvious that she likes you! I mean, she gave you a Rowap berry!"

"Give him a rest!" said Cinder, beside me, "let him decide."

I looked at him quizzically, "thanks, but since when did you care?"

"No reason," he said, turning away from us. Was it my imagination, or was he blushing?

"Well," I said, turning back to the box, "these berries aren't going to eat themselves." I broke the Rowap berry into four pieces, and we dug in.

There were even some Poffins inside the box, _Who knew Leaf was such a good cook? _I thought to myself as I devoured a Sweet one.

Despite Cinder's previous assumption that he couldn't eat another bite, he ate more than Tails.

Finally, it was all gone, and we were all full and happy. Except for Cinder, who was a little bit too full.

Once he had licked the box clean, we walked back into the training room, and up to the Magmarizer. Once it had opened, we went into the elevator, and it went down.

When it opened again, we walked down a long hall, and into a dimly lit room. "Who goes there?" a voice barked.

"It's Team Inferno," I replied, "we need transportation."

"Ah yes," said the voice thoughtfully, "I was informed of your arrival." A Dusknoir appeared in the center of the room.

"Very well," he replied, and stretched his hands around us, forming a circle. "I wish you luck on your mission." he added, and a blinding flash of light obscured my vision.

When I came to, we were just outside a town. "Alright," I said, as I turned toward my team, "we need to get going." and we started toward the gates.

The entrance to the village was easy, there was one guard at the gate, and he barely looked at us as we passed through.

The village was quite small, but it was also very lively. Baby pokemon ran through the streets, laughing and playing. Adults were walking around as well, some of them carrying eggs.

As I walked along, a baby Eevee turned a corner and ran into me.

I looked down at it, and it looked up at me, we stared at each other.

Then, it's face cracked into a big smile, and, looking at it, I had to smile back. I ruffled it's fur, and it replied with an "Eevee!" and scampered off.

Still smiling, I looked up, and felt my stomach drop into my feet.

There, in front of me, was a house, but it wasn't an ordinary house. I recognized it, it was my house. All of the pictures had this house in them.

"Flare?" I heard Tail's voice behind me, and wrenched my gaze away from my house.

My team was looking at me with concern, and Tails said, "you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," I replied unsteadily, "just give me a moment." and I turned and walked into the house.

**What will Flare find in his old house? Find out, and Stay tuned.**

**And before you ask, The baby Eevee says only it's name because it's still a baby.  
**


	3. Memories

_This place is really dusty._ Was my first thought as I entered the building that was once my house.

It seemed to be empty, apart from my quiet footsteps, there was no other sound in the house.

My eyes drifted across the walls, and landed on a large bookcase in the living room. I walked over to it, and pulled down a book.

_Man, _I thought to myself, _this is so not like me. _The cover read, _Dealing with Injuries and Infection._

I leafed through the book, stopping at random pages, but eventually I grew bored, and went to put the book back. Eager to resume my inspection of the house, I put it back in a random spot and turned away.

_Click!_

I froze, and tried to pinpoint where the sound had come from. I didn't need to.

With a loud creak, a trapdoor in front of me opened. I was seriously freaked out by now, but I just had to know what was there.

Taking a deep breath, I walked down the steps into a dark room.

It was filled with dirt, owing to a large hole in the wall, letting in the contents of outside.

I shivered. There was a feeling of foreboding in the air. Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, I began to see a white figure lying prone on the dirt-covered floor.

I rushed over to it, and turned it over. I screamed, jumping backward, and hitting my head on the wall.

Breathing heavily, I dug myself out of the wall of mud, and sidled back to the skeleton lying on the floor.

When I was in front of it, I had stopped shaking by then, I was able to identify it as a Smeargle's bones.

_Hold on, a Smeargle?_ I shook my head, confused, _why is this so familiar? Wait, it couldn't be…_

My mind drifted back to the pictures in the bathroom, and the realization dawned on me.

The moment this happened, my head exploded in agony. Staggering backward, I clutched my head and gritted my teeth.

Just as the pain reached it's peak, there was a blinding flash of light.

_There was a knock at the door, and I turned toward it. Mother had already reached it._

_Losing interest in the unknown visitor, I wandered over to a patch of sunlight and stretched, my fluffy brown Eevee's fur sparkling in the glow._

_There was a scream from behind me, and, as I straightened and turned, my mother came running at me._

_Scooping me up, she rushed into the living room, and deposited me into an underground room, as my father held open the door._

"_Stay here," she said, and ran back to the entrance. My father slammed the trapdoor, and I was enveloped in darkness. I jumped in fright at the bang it made, and squeaked loudly._

"_Quiet!" hissed a voice from the depths of the dark room, and a small light went on._

_It revealed an old female Smeargle, who rushed up to me and covered my mouth with a paw. "Try not to make any noise, I'll see what's going on." she said, crept forward, and opened the door an inch._

_I followed her, and peered through the gap. If my mouth had been free, I would have screamed. My father, a deep gash on his arm dripping blood, was battling a faceless demon. As I watched in horror, the demon got around father's guard, and slashed him across the chest with razor sharp claws._

_The Espeon fell to the floor, one half, then the other. The Smeargle's paw had grown slack over my mouth, and I let out another squeak._

_Quickly, my companion dragged me back into the room, shutting the door. But, just as it closed, the heavy trapdoor was blasted off it's hinges. The demon stood in the doorway, smirking down at us._

_Smeargle shoved me behind her, and threw her arms out in front of me, saying, "You will not hurt one hair on this boy's head!"_

_The demon's sneer deepened, and he took a step into the room. "That," he said, looking at her with disinterest, "is one thing you don't have to worry about me doing. You see, I need the boy, he will be… helpful in achieving my goal."_

"_So," replied Smeargle, "you don't intend to hurt us?" The demon sneered even deeper, "him, no, you, however," he said, and walked into the light. I whimpered, and backed away. His bright green eyes were slits, and his mouth was curved in an evil smile._

"_You are unimportant." A blast of blue flame engulfed Smeargle, she flew backward into the wall, and disintegrated, her bones clattered to the floor, one after the other._

_I tried to run over to her, but as I did, a hand closed around me, and lifted me into the air. I struggled and kicked, but the demon just tightened his hold. "There, there," he said in a mocking tone, "sleep, my little one." He laughed, as my vision blurred, and I blacked out.  
_

There was another flash, and I was standing in the exact same spot as I was before. The murderer might just have left.

Numbly, I contemplated what I had seen. _Spiritomb lied to me, my parents didn't abandon me, they were killed! _Then another thought crossed my mind. _Who was that guy? Why did he take me alive? Is that how I stumbled into the Eradicators' base? Did I somehow escape from him, and find my way there?_

Still lost in thought, I started to walk up into the house again. Before he left, the murderer had cleaned up, everything was neat and tidy, not a drop of blood anywhere.

I stopped at the bookcase on my way out of the house, and examined it. Taking out the book I had read earlier, I examined the slot, and found a secret switch, that, when pressed, undid the lock, and opened the trapdoor. _Very clever, an ideal place to hide._

As I walked toward the exit, I turned around, and inspected the house one last time. _Well, this has been fun, but I really should go._

When I was outside, I looked around, my team was nowhere to be seen. "Great," I said to myself, "this day is turning out perfect."

To my immense relief, I found Tails, Flame, and Cinder in the town square. "Guys!" I called, and ran towards them.

My relief turned to exasperation, as Cinder turned towards me, his face stuffed with food.

"C'mon!" I said, resisting the urge to punch him, "do you ever stop eating! I thought you had died or something!"

"Sorry," said Tails sheepishly, "but Cinder kept complaining about hungry he was, and he wouldn't shut up, so, we figured you'd be alright."

"Just don't do that again." I said, and we walked toward the client's we reached the gate, two Scyther guards blocked our path.

"Business?" growled the one on the right, tilting his blade so the sun flashed off it.

"I don't think that concerns you," I replied coolly, "I need to speak to the owner."

The guard's eyes narrowed, and he placed one of his swords near my neck, "Unfortunately, kiddo, that does concern me, right now, the owner can't be disturbed by anyone. Now get out of here, before I get rough with you."

I leaned forward, and said, softly, "I'm not sure you want to do that, The Eradicators don't like being crossed."

Being the most powerful and feared organization in the known world has it's benefits.

Shock filled the guard's face, and he struggled to form words, "but- I.. uh…"

"Good," I replied, cutting off his feeble attempts at speech, and pushing his sword away from my face. "I'm glad we've reached an understanding. Good day."

Nodding to the silent guard, I walked past them, and into the mansion

The place was huge, though not as big as the Eradicator's base. The moment we walked inside, a Croagunk servant bustled up to us and bowed, saying, "the owner will be along shortly, would you like any refreshments?"

"I'll have a bowl of Sitrus berry juice, and a glass of Moomoo Milk."

Tails ordered a Blissey egg, and Flame got a bowl of Snover fruits. Before Cinder could open his mouth, I said, "that's all," and the servant moved away.

"Hey!" said Cinder indignantly, as we walked into a huge sitting room. "look," I said to him, as I plopped down onto a leather couch, "if you eat any more, you won't be able to fight."

"Either that, or you'll explode," piped up Flame, and we all laughed.

"oh, man," said Tails, stretching out and propping his feet up, "this is the life."

"Tails," I reminded him, "we're on a mission, remember?"

"Gee, Flare, chill out," he replied, taking a bite out of his egg.

"What do you think our client is like, anyway?" asked Flame.

"We're about to find out, I think." said Cinder, pointing past us into the hall.

A group of servants formed a path through the hallway, and an Aggron stepped around the corner and into the room.

When he saw us, he raised an eyebrow, and said, "you are the ones Spiritomb sent? You?"

I met his gaze, "is there a problem with that?"

"Yes, actually, there is." he replied, and he didn't do as good a job of keeping the annoyance out of his voice as I did.

"You are mere teenagers, you won't survive the perils involved"

"oh, but we will." I continued, "you see, we are not the sniveling children you take us to be. Think that, and your death will come quickly. Underestimate us, and it will be the last thing you ever do"

He snorted loudly. "Very well, then," he said in a mocking tone, "a test is necessary."

"Fine, just don't make it too long."

When we reached the training room, enemies were waiting for us.

"alright then," the Aggron called, "let's see how the _Fearsome Mercenaries _deal with my best fighters, shall we?" and laughed.

I was immediately charged by a Machamp, who ran at me and used Cross Chop.

His hands struck nothing, as I was already on top of him. My Giga Impact hit him in the back, and broke his spine.

"Quickly!" called a Gardevoir, "that was Giga impact! He cant move!"

She, a Gallade, and a Golem ran towards me, and struck out with their mind, blades, and rocks.

Through my extensive training, I had learned to bypass the period of exhaustion after a Giga Impact, and shielded myself with Protect.

The three attacks bounced off my barrier, doing nothing whatsoever. I took out the Gardevoir with a Flamethrower, scorching her down to the bone, which burned too.

After that, the other two became more careful, ducking and weaving around me, trying to do some damage. After the third attack, a Rock throw right to my face, I yelled, "Screw this!" and let loose with Lava Plume.

The resounding wave of Lava covered the two, incinerating them completely. Just as it vanished, I landed next to the charred bones at looked at Aggron, "Is that all you got?"

He just stood there with his mouth open and eyes wide. "But," he spluttered, "those were my most powerful warriors!"

"Really," I said skeptically, "you need some new warriors." my team laughed, and we walked back to the sitting room, leaving Aggron to catch up to us.

**Whew! Finally got that one out, sorry, this plot needs a lot of developing. But i promise, something will happen in the next chapter. **

**In other news, I finally have a schedule, I will be posting for The Eradicators every Saturday. Pls R&R and keep reading!  
**


	4. The Mission

When we were all back in the sitting room, Aggron gave us the details.

"The thief's mansion is right down the street," he said, stomping over to a window and pointing to a silver and gold house with turreted gates.

"And why," I inquired, "do we have to sort this out for you?"

"Because," he answered curtly, "my warriors and I are very well known. If the thief dies on the night one of us goes out, someone is bound to make a connection."

I nodded, that sounded like a plan. "You may do whatever you want until sundown, good luck."

When the time finally came, my team and I snuck through the gates and made our way down the silent streets.

When the gates came into view, my practiced eye caught three Noctowl. Two on the ground and one perched on the gate spikes.

"Well," Flame whispered, "we didn't exactly expect them to leave the gates open, did we?"

"so what's the plan, boss?" said Tails, looking over at me.

"1." I replied, "don't call me that.

2. Find out how they deal with intruders.

3. Get inside in a blind spot.

4. avoid the sensors

5. get in the house

6. kill the thief

"Gee," muttered Cinder, "is that all?"

"no," I replied, "now, Cinder, use a clear Smokescreen, and travel it into that bush before giving it color."

"you got it." The Quilava began spewing clear smoke from his back. Once he had it in a ball, he moved it over to the bush, and with a small poof, gave it color.

The moment the black puff rose above the bushes, one of the Owls moved. With Psychic, it lifted the bush, and sent a blast of light from it's eyes right behind it.

Even I was impressed, if we had been behind that bush, they would have caught us.

"Yikes," whispered Tails. _Whoever arranged this must be very skilled._ I thought, scratching my head, _but how to get around it?_

Slowly, a plan began to form in my mind, and I smiled deviously. "Alright," I said, "this is what we do…"

When I was done explaining, I put my plan into action. I blew one Ember, and wafted it toward one of the guards. Halfway toward the Noctowl, it bounced off an invisible wall, and a green force field disintegrated silently.

One of them flicked his head toward it, and it was reinforced. "Lousy Protects, can't do it like I used to." he muttered.

"Now, Tails!" I gave him a nudge, and his eyes began to glow red. Imprison, the shield was once again neutralized.

This time, the guard didn't notice. "and now," I muttered to Tails, "Extrasensory."

A pink field surrounded the three, and their eyes became sightless and glassy. Though they were dead, they remained straight up, and turned their heads from time to time, puppets at the Vulpix's will.

I straightened, and walked toward the gates, moving right past the Noctowl. One of them turned toward me and said, quietly, "nice night for a walk, eh?"

"Stop fooling around, Tails," I replied, without looking at him. The gate was made of an iron I had never seen before, after a minute of continuous fire breathing, it didn't show a scorch mark.

"Plan B, then." I charged a shadow ball, and fitted it onto a spot in the gate. Once it was secure, I yanked it out, bringing a piece of iron with it.

After three more of these, there was a big enough hole to climb into, and we all filed through. The lawn was huge, as was expected of rich Pokemon, and filled with sensors, little beams of light were all over the place. What happened when they were set off, I didn't want to know.

"Ok, let's go." we made our way through the dark lawn, ducking and weaving to escape Noctowl searchlights. They were perfect for the job of Night guard. They won't be tired during the night, because they're nocturnal pokemon, and have excellent night vision.

When we finally made it, I burned the lock off, and opened the door. No one was there to greet us, so we traveled silently down the hallway.

At the end, it turned sideways, and I peered around the corner. Two guards stood at the entrance to a door, a Kangaskhan and an Electivire.

I looked back at Tails and held up two paws, meaning _two guards_, and mouthed, "Confuse Ray."

He nodded, and moved over to the wall. There was a soft crunch, and a grunt of pain. I moved around the wall, to see a cross-eyed Kangaskhan staggering away from the Electivire, who was slumped against the wall, dripping blood.

I walked up to the one still standing, and he swung at me. The hit was harder than I had expected, and I was thrown backward.

He grunted as Cinder jumped on him, and quickly toasted him with a Flamethrower.

I shook the stars out of my eyes, and staggered back over to the door. "You ok?" asked Flame, worried, "that was some knock you took."

I gave no answer, _these guys have been well trained, that punch really hurt."_

With a soft creak, I opened the door. The bedroom was empty but for a prone form lying on the plush bed.

Quietly, I tip-pawed over to the form, and peered at it. Something seemed wrong, but I couldn't put my paw on it.

Lights flooded the room, and a Magmortar's gun was inches from my face. "Nice try," came a mocking voice from a corner of the room, "but I'm afraid it was all for naught."

I flicked my eyes sideways, a Kecleon was standing right next to the bed. As I watched, he picked up the form on the bed, and it dissolved. "Substitute." I said, and he nodded.

"It seems you have underestimated us," said the Kecleon, sneering, "we knew you were here from the moment you entered the building. You see," he continued, "before anyone opens the door, you have to enter a code on the ID sensor next to the door. That way, if anyone comes during the night, the sensor is out of view, and when they open the door, it sends a signal to the security tower that we have unwanted visitors."

All while he was talking, I was looking around for my teammates. All I noticed was an open trapdoor. _Oh, crap._

"You won't find your friends here," he continued, still sneering, "but wherever they are, I'm sure they'll find it cozy."

Anger bubbled up within me, and I grabbed the Magmortar's arm and threw him into the wall.

When I was turned, the Kecleon's fist slammed into my back, and I landed on the guard I had killed.

Quickly recovering, I caught the next swing and swung him into the bed. As he jumped up, he caught me in the face with his feet, and the battle really began.

He caught me with a Water Pulse before I could dodge it, the crashing water smacked me hard, and I smashed into the wall again.

Blood was running down my face, making it hard to see, but I launched myself forward anyway. He summoned up Ancient Power, but I incinerated the rocks with Flamethrower.

I charged toward him and attacked with Slam, he met me halfway with Slash. Our attacks collided in a shower of sparks, immediately he drew back and let loose with Mega Punch.

Just before his fist connected, I morphed into a Flame Wheel. He plunged his hand into the wheel, burning it off.

The blood spattered everywhere, but he registered no pain, just drew back to the door.

Before he could leave, though, my Flamethrower burnt him to a crisp.

Breathing heavily, I walked past his charred remains, and out the door into the brightly lit hallway.

I heard loud footsteps coming from the hall around the bend, and I swore. _In my weakened state, I doubt I could take on that many guards_.

"Hey," hissed a voice to my right, "come here, now!" I turned and saw a Vaporeon, obviously female, beckoning to me from a hole in the wall.

I should have been suspicious, but it was just something odd that made it hard not to trust her.

I followed her through the wall into a huge cave, Lit by large lamps here and there. "Thanks" I mumbled, and sat down on an ornate rug.

Her eyes ran over my face, and they widened, "whoa, that's some wound. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," I muttered back. It was a downright lie, and she knew it. She leaned forward, and placed a paw on my forehead.

Waves of pain coursed through me, and I jerked away. The touch had increased my already pounding headache.

"Hey," she said softly, turning my head around, and we both blushed, "you've got to let me treat it, you can't go wandering around like this."

"How can I trust you?" I said cautiously, taking her paw down. "for all I know, you could be another enemy."

"Then why did I save you?"

"Why did you save me?"

She kneaded the ground with her paws, blushing, "That's not important," she muttered, and then louder, "just let me patch you up, please."

I was silent, "Fine." she nodded, and surrounded me in an Aqua Ring.

It felt nice as she maneuvered the ring around me, healing cuts, bumps, and wounds, and bound them with bandages.

"Don't be too rough on them," she told me, "they could open again if you're not careful."

I nodded, and said, "now, do you know where I can find my friends?""Hmm," she said thoughtfully, "if they went through the trapdoor, they would end up in the prison area, which would be that way."

She started walking toward a tunnel, and I followed her. At the end, there was a small room with a doorway on the wall.

"be careful," she said to me, eyes full of concern.

"Don't worry," I said reassuringly, "but I believe you haven't told me your name yet?"

"Oh," she replied, blushing, "I'm Ice, nice to meet you."

My throat was dry, _how am I going to say this?_ "Uh, Ice?" I said, "please- please take care."

At first she was confused, but then she blushed, and replied, "thank you, uh,"

"Flare," I supplied.

"Thank you, Flare," she finished, "that's very… sweet of you."

She leaned forward, and I subconsciously did the same. The moment our lips touched, was the best moment in my life. The world seemed to melt away, leaving only Ice and I, entwined forever.

When we broke apart, all the dangers and troubles of the world came back to me, and I turned toward the door.

"Goodbye, Flare, may we meet again," whispered Ice, and went back to the tunnel, just as the wall opened.

It opened up into a huge room lined with cells, only one of them was occupied, and a guard stood outside the door.

I walked up behind him and quickly knocked him out. I grabbed his keys, and began to undo the lock, but just as it clicked, footsteps came around the corner.

I spun around, and found myself staring at an Umbreon. "Well, well" he said in a high, cold voice, "enjoying ourselves are we?"

There was no mistaking it, this guy was the thief.

**Ooh, a cliffhanger! I'm so evil. well, please R&R.**


	5. The Thief

**Sorry, this one's a little shorter than the last one, but I had less time.**

I stared at the Umbreon in front of me, and he stared back. Then, I made my first mistake, I blinked.

In the split second that my eyes were closed, the thief attacked. A Crunch straight to my right leg.

I leapt backward into the door, and it opened, sending me falling backward onto my head.

"What the hell?" shouted a voice, Tails' voice. Growling, Cinder leapt onto the Umbreon, and they tumbled into a wall.

The thief grabbed Cinder by his shoulders and thrust him in the way of Tails' Flamethrower.

Snarling, Flame jumped onto him and delivered a Fire Fang right to his neck. He staggered backward, and vanished. "Huh?" asked Flame.

"Double Team…" I muttered, "so the real thief is still somewhere else. I walked over to Cinder, and gave him a nudge, "Hey, buddy, you alright?"

He groaned, and shifted, saying, "No, not really."

"He's in no fit state to fight," a soft voice came from behind me. I spun around, it was Ice.

She walked over to us, and said, "Hey, you, come with me." he didn't move.

She sighed, and kicked Cinder between the legs. Swearing, he doubled over. "Good, you're awake. Now come on!"

She grabbed one of his legs, and dragged him around the corner, and out of sight.

Tails whistled, "That's one tough chick."

"Yeah," I replied, blushing slightly. Flame cleared her throat, and tugged my ear.

"Hello! Mr. Always-stay-preoccupied-with-the-mission!"

"Huh? Oh, right! Let's go." as we made our way through the building, we encountered several guards, but we quickly killed them before they could sound the alarm.

Stealth was crucial, if we were discovered now, all of the guards and the thief's clones would converge on us.

As we turned another corner leading out of the dungeon, we came face to face with another Umbreon. His eyes widened, and he flicked open a pad and pressed a big red button.

A second later, I slammed into him, and he disappeared. But It was too late. The moment he pressed the button, a horrible screeching noise echoed around the building. The alarm.

"Shi-" Tails' swear was cut off by a streak of pink light that hit him in the chest. "Future Sight!" I yelled, dodging another one, "they've been set to activate when the alarm goes off!"

I grabbed Tails by his tails and sprinted down the hallway, Flame in hot pursuit.

Finally, we ran into a huge room, the entrance hall. Breathing heavily, I ran toward the doors.

Something round dropped from the ceiling, and in that instant, it seemed as if the entire world ended.

When my vision returned, I was still holding on to a tail. Except there was nothing attached to it.

I looked around, I saw nothing but rubble. But there was a faint shape just visible out of the smoke.

It was an Umbreon, just like the other two, only this one was holding an unconscious Flame by the neck.

"Well," he said mockingly, "how did you like our Electrode explosion? Pretty shocking, huh?"

He chuckled coldly, and tightened his grip on Flame, making her gasp with pain. "Now don't move, or I rip her throat out."

I stood, torn between the mission and my team. The thief began charging up a Dark Pulse "I guess you don't care about her after all."

I charged, and with a flick of his paw, sent Flame flying sideways. I rammed into his chest, driving the breath out of him, and slamming his head into the floor, leaving a crater.

He kicked out with his hind legs, and pushed me off, immediately hitting me with two Assurances, and cracked me over the head with his paw.

I retaliated with a Smog right in his face, and while he was coughing, I caught him in a Fire Spin. The flames licked around him, and he was definitely shuddering, the poison was taking affect. With Flamethrower, I intensified the blaze, and created a column of fire within the ring.

Leaving the fire ring there, I turned, and started to look for Flame. Behind me, the ring parted to reveal a murderous pokemon with glowing red eyes. Golden rings flooding the room with light.

Noticing the odd color, I turned, just as a iron-hard fist connected with my forehead, blood splattering onto his black fur. A bone-crushing Psychic stopped me in my tracks, jerking my neck.

I heard a crack, and my arm went limp. He slammed me against the wall, leaving a crater, and swung me around and into a large rock.

Blood covered the boulder, and my vision was flickering, threatening to darken. The Umbreon landed next to me, eyes still glowing red, and rasped, in a completely different voice, "you are inferior, this next blow shall finish you off."

The red glow seemed to be seeping out from his eyes and onto his body, turning his black fur a deep crimson. I could feel him gathering his energy, whatever he was doing, it certainly wasn't natural.

"Goodbye, Flare." he raised his head, and… it fell off. Standing behind him was Ice, her tail still glowing from her Aqua Tail move.

"Sorry, Father." she ran over to me, and took my head in her arms. "Thank you…" I whispered, the blood leaking out of my head was slowing me down, weakening me by the second.

Crying, she pulled me into a kiss. The wonderful feeling of her lips on mine lulled me into unconsciousness.

"So, how long have you known each other?" Tails' voice.

"We just met today," Ice this time.

"Wow, love at first sight, huh?" he sighed, "no luck for me…"

"Hey…" I managed, and sat up. Ice immediately smothered me in a hug.

I hugged her back, and looked up at Tails, Flame and Cinder "Well, I guess I don't have to explain."

"Nah, skip it." said Tails, "but anyway, I've been meaning to ask you, what happened to my tail?"

I saw he only had five, "yeah, about that," I began sheepishly.

"I knew it!" he cut in, "I swear, all this time you've been trying to make sure I never get a girlfriend!"

Flame slapped him. "Don't argue with the patient!"

We laughed, and I disentangled myself from Ice. "So," I said to her, "do you… uh, want to come with us?"

"idiot," she replied, looking at me with amusement. "do you really have to ask? Of course I'm coming."

I released my pent-up breath, and asked, "two more questions, was the thief really your father, and why was he like that?"

She stiffened, "yes, Shadow is my father, and a more twisted and cruel guy you couldn't find.

As for your second question, I have no idea, I have never before seen him like that."

I nodded, "alright, then, let's get going." she looked at me with relief.

"you mean you trust me? Even though Shadow is my father?"

I placed a paw on her shoulder, and said, "no matter who you are, I trust you."

We hugged again, and set off.

When we had taken a tunnel out of the building, I stopped on a nearby hill.

Summoning up my strength, I loosed an Eruption, burning rocks crushing the mansion, and burning it to the ground.

No one complained, we had seen quite enough of that building.

When we reached the point outside the village where we had appeared, I reached into my neck fur, where I keep my storage bag.

I took out a small pad, and clicked the button on it. There was a flash of light, and we were back in the Eradicators' base.

"Who's this?" called Dusknoir, and he appeared in front of us.

"A new recruit." I answered, and he nodded.

"good, good. It's always nice to have new people, go on up."

At the last words, he disappeared, and we walked into the elevator.

When we arrived at Spiritomb's office, he was expecting us. "So," he said, as we walked in, "you wish to join The Eradicators? Why?"

"because I love Flare, and I won't leave him." she said defiantly. The room was silent.

"very well," he said, and Ice and I exchanged delighted looks. "However," he continued, "a test is needed to see if you can brave the perils involved.

You will fight King, the current leader of Team Deluge for his position. Dismissed."

He vanished, and we all piled back into the elevator again.

Finally, the day of the test came. All of the teams came to the Deluge training room to watch the fight.

King was already there when Ice arrived, snapping his pincers. "You ready?" he said, and Ice nodded.

The room fell silent, and the two water-types stared at each other. King made the first move, leaping toward Ice with a Crabhammer.

Using Water Gun, she propelled herself backwards out of the way, while knocking King back at the same time.

With an Aqua Jet, she slammed into the Kingler, and then with a Muddy Water, knocked him out.

Five seconds of awe-struck silence, then the cheers erupted all around, King was never popular, and now Ice was taking his place.

She ran up to me and hugged me. The room fell silent again.

It was broken a few seconds later by a loud sob, and I turned to see Leaf running out of the room, crying uncontrollably.

I sighed, and, after saying good night to Ice, my team and I walked back up to our room.

**I almost feel sorry for Leaf, but since I know what's going to happen, I don't.**

**Ok, for the next chapter, I need an OC, but I've pretty much run dry on character ideas. To the readers that read this out there, PM me your suggestions, I need some help with this one.**

**Until next time, that is, if you read the authors Notes...  
**


	6. The Slum

**Okay! I'm back in business! Here's the rest of that chapter. I'll be introducing two new characters who will be important to the plot later on. Enjoy!**

**Leaf's POV**

I ran into the bathroom, and turned on the sink. Once the water had filled up, I splashed some on my face, washing away my tears.

Suddenly, a feeling came over me. I gave another sob, and plunged my face into the pool.

I put my paw on my head and forced it down. Faintly, I heard someone rushing in. A hand grabbed me and pulled me out of the water.

Choking and spluttering, my blurry vision returned to see Sunny, a Sunflora, shaking me. "Leaf!" she scolded, "what were you thinking?"

I stared at her, and replied, "what's the point of going on? Flare…" I cut off, and tears leaked from my eyes again.

"Come on!" continued Sunny, "you still have a long life to live!"

"There's nothing left I care about, so why keep caring?"

She was silent. "You know full well my parents are dead!" I almost yelled, "my house, destroyed, my village, burned. The only thing left was Flare… but that Ice stole him from me!"

"Flare isn't the only guy on earth."

"Well, he's the only one for me."

Sunny sighed, and said, "Please, don't do this, think about your friends."

I bit my lip, she was right, I should continue to live, whether I have Flare or not.

"Fine." She smiled.

"But," I continued, "If I can't have Flare, I can't have anybody. I will not go for anyone else. So don't set me up on dates like you did before I fell for Flare."

"Alright," she agreed, but then added under her breath, "you're no fun."

Ignoring her, I turned towards the door. Staring into the room through the keyhole was a red eye. As I watched, it blinked, and the owner hurriedly drew back.

I walked toward the door and opened it. No one was there, there was just a single tear on the ground.

That night, I had the dream again.

_A demon was standing over a Flareon, tearing him to pieces with his claws._

_I watched, horrified, as my Mother was killed, her blood splattering all over the walls._

_Laughing, the demon turned to me, manic eyes staring. I backed up, but the eyes were so entrancing, they seemed to elongate, and I seemed to be falling into them. Falling… falling…_

I jerked awake with a start, sweating. That dream has haunted my sleep since I was little. Silently, I began to cry, the tears running onto my bed as I drifted off to sleep again.

The next day dawned bright and sunny. I was awoken by Carnivine, our supervisor. "Hey, Spiritomb wants you."

I nodded to her and walked down the stairs and into the training room.

"Forest." I said as I walked up to the tallest tree in the room. The Big Root embedded in the trunk began to glow, and a door opened into the elevator.

Spiritomb was facing away as always, but the moment I entered, he said, "Leaf, good morning."

I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, the Inferno elevator opened, and Flare stepped in.

"sorry I'm late, I-" he cut off when he saw me. I waved at him, and he nodded silently.

"Come in," said Spiritomb, "I have a mission for you."

"For which team?" I asked.

"For you two. Flare, I'm appointing you captain."

I exchanged looks with Flare, and I tried not to blush.

A map appeared on his desk, and a purple arrow pointed to a slum not far from here.

"In this slum, there is a mafia of sorts, and our client is the village leader. He wants us to take care of those pesky vermin, so they'll stop attacking citizens."

I nodded, "Understood."

"Good luck." he replied, "Dusknoir is waiting.

After the blinding flash of light faded, the smell of garbage assaulted my nostrils.

Coughing, I covered my nose and opened my eyes. I was surrounded by trash, and other things I couldn't identify.

I looked over at Flare, he seemed completely undisturbed by the stench, and was picking his way over the debris. Taking a deep breath, I followed.

Ragged pokemon peeked out from behind hills of garbage, I saw a mother Wobbuffet, her lipstick badly arranged, shoving a baby Wynaut behind her back as we passed.

Flare walked stoically on, barely looking at the crowd, which was now gathering in great numbers around us.

We stopped at a run down shack, and Flare knocked twice. The door opened to reveal an ancient Dunsparce.

"Yes?" his voice wheezed and cracked.

"The village leader, I presume?" Flare asked, the leader's eyes widened, and he backed up.

"You blasted Mafia men won't take me alive!" he shouted, and began to shut the door.

Flare shot his paw out, and blocked it from closing, "We are the Eradicators, if you recall, gramps, you sent for us."

The elder let out a sigh of relief, "Coast is clear, Dusty." With a thud, a Lucario jumped down from the ceiling, and inspected us with a guarded expression.

His gaze shifted to me, and before I could stop myself, a thought raced across my mind, _he's cute._ Mentally shaking myself, I looked away.

"Come in! Come in." the Dunsparce said, breaking my train of thought, and we followed him into the house, Dusty bringing up the rear. For some reason, I couldn't stop glancing back at him.

As we walked into the main room, the elder stepped aside to reveal an Espeon, who's eyes lit up when she saw Flare. "Allow me to introduce my daughter, Star."

Waving her tail, she sauntered over to Flare, "Hey," she said seductively, "very nice to meet you."

I cleared my throat. She shot a glare at me. "Well," said the Dunsparce, breaking the awkward moment, "Please sit down, I'll give you the details.

Falling into a chair, I glared back at Star, and she stuck her tongue out. As the elder began to talk, I found myself thinking about Flare, and what to do about him. _How am I going to win him over? _Against my will, my thoughts turned to Dusty, the strong smell of his fur, his lean muscles…

Suddenly, a plan formed in my mind, a plan to win over Flare and humor my strange attractions to Dusty. I grinned, and began to focus on the conversation again.

"All right," Flare. "I'm sure we can stay here a few days and help out."

"Oh!" Star ran forward and embraced Flare, "Thank you!"

Flare turned red, and gently pushed her off. I was steaming by now, ready to tear that girl into a million pieces.

"We just need to inform Spiritomb," Flare continued, "thank you for letting us use your house."

Motioning to me, we left the house. Flare took a remote out of the box he kept in his neck fur, and pressed a button.

"Spiritomb? This is Flare, we'll be here for a few days, apparently, there's a worse situation then we thought, and they have very few fighters."

"Very well, report back tomorrow, reinforcements are standing by to help."

Static.

As we walked back to the house, I looked over at Flare, and found him looking back at me, he looked away quickly. _Now is the time to execute my plan._

We walked into the room, and Flare said to the elder, "alright, we can stay for a few days."

As he and the elder talked, I walked over to Dusty, looking around, swaying my hips. "Hello," I said, in the most seductive voice I had, he looked down at me, and his eyes seemed to soften.

"I beg your pardon," his voice was incredibly deep, and bespoke toughness. He bent down to my level, and said, "forgive me, I haven't asked your name."

I ran my paw around his chest spike, "I'm Leaf,"

He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, and asked "are you busy tonight? I could show you the countryside, you know, somewhere outside the slums."

Swaying my hips, I walked away, then turned my head, "I'd like that, Dusty."

He smiled, and walked up to the Dunsparce, who was still talking with Flare, but looked up when he saw him.

"Elder," the Lucario asked, "have you need of my services tonight?"

He grinned, looking over at Star. _This guy has no idea what's going on, as if a guy like Dusty would go for that flirt._

"Sure, have fun." he wheezed with a wink at his daughter, who frowned, looking puzzled.

We walked out, and I called behind me, "I'm just going for some fresh air, see you later!"

My afternoon with Dusty was incredible, he showed me all around, from the green hills covered with flowers, to the lush forests teeming with plants. We even watched the sunset, it's golden brilliance bathed our entwined figures in light, before shifting into the darkness of night.

As we walked back to his cabin, we talked, I found myself feeling guilty for using him.

When we were there, he looked down at me, staring at me with an incredible happiness, subconsciously, I felt the same.

Right there, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. "Dusty?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think, for tonight," my face reddened, "well… it would be kind of lonely in my room…"

He caught on, and he blushed too, "you're welcome to share my bed," he colored even more, "I mean, if you don't mind… well… I'm sorry." he said, "I'm pushing too much. You're probably not ready for that yet." he sat down and hung his head.

I walked over to him, and lifted his chin. "Dusty, I love you. And I'm willing to do anything for you." and I meant it. At that moment, Flare meant nothing to me anymore. I leaned forward, and kissed him. He stood up, and together, we walked into his cabin and locked the door.

**Hmmm... :) I wonder how Flare will react. Does he have feelings for Leaf? Will Leaf stick with Dusty? Why am I asking you? I don't know, people do that.**

**Thanks to iRawr for the idea of Star.**

**Name guide**

**Dusty: In Battle Revolution, a trainer who wears a Lucario outfit is named Dusty.**

**Star: a synonym for sun, Espeon is a Sun Pokemon.  
**


	7. The Attack

**Sorry, this chapter's a little shorter than usual, but it's been one busy week and I'm exhausted. But anyway, without further ado, enjoy.**

I woke to someone tapping me on the shoulder. I opened my eyes blearily, it wasn't Dusty, he was still asleep beside me. I turned, it was Flare, looking deeply surprised. Last night I had been over him, but now all my tortured feelings had returned, and I blushed. He beckoned, and I followed him out of the shack, taking care not to wake my Lucario friend. Once we were out of earshot of the cabin and behind a wall of junk, he turned, and said, "Leaf, what did you do?"

"What's it to you?" I didn't exactly know why I was so angry. He flinched back a little, and his eyes narrowed.

"Leaf, we don't know anything about him!"

"He's not our enemy!"

"Everyone is our enemy! And you are leaving in a few days, we can't take him with us! What on earth compelled you to sleep with him!"

"Why not!" I almost shouted, "why do you have a problem with it?"

"Because!" He yelled, then looked around and lowered his voice, "Leaf, did you ever consider the problems?"

"Like what?"

"You could get pregnant, Leaf."

"So? I would welcome children!"

"You don't understand," He said, like he was explaining that 2+2=4 to a small child. "You're a fighter, Leaf, but if you fight, you will most certainly lose your children. And if, by some miracle, they are born, how could you leave them behind, perhaps forever?"

My heart skipped a beat. He was right, no matter how I denied it. How could I forget my children to go off and fight odd pokemon? I ducked my head and lowered my eyes, but Flare wasn't done yet. He looked down at me, and we sat there for a full ten seconds, then he spoke. "I'm sorry," Whatever he would have said next, this was the last thing I expected. I looked up at him, to see he had genuine sorrow in his eyes. "I know what I did was terrible, but I love Ice, and I hope it won't ruin our friendship." He seemed to be begging me, and I could tell he really was sorry.

I smiled, and stuck out my paw, he did the same, sealing the deal. "Flare?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think," I blushed again, "because we'll never have another time like this… can I ask you something?" he nodded, "can I have… one kiss?" he frowned slightly.

"would it make you happy?"

"very."

"Alright." he leaned forward, and I, heart beating wildly, did the same. It wasn't how I imagined it would be, it was better. A voice came from behind us, "Ooh la la!" we broke apart quickly, and turned, it was Star. Blushing, I stormed past her, and out of the junkyard. On my way out, I heard Star sigh, and say, "So you're taken, huh? All the good-looking guys are."

For the rest of the day, I ignored Dusty, even though I yearned to be with him. I focused on our mission, and didn't pursue either him or Flare. The day passed quickly, and I learned that night would be when we attack the main mafia base outside the slums. I was greatly relived to learn this, because after a day here, the smell was really getting to me. "You should all get some sleep now." the elder advised us, "It'll be a long night."

I was awakened yet again from my nap by Flare. Quietly, we slipped outside and walked toward where the others were waiting. They were there, the setting sun bathing their figures in golden light. Dusty and Star nodded, and we made our way towards the slum limits. A huge wall came into view, according to my intelligence, the mafia's leaders had situated themselves in an abandoned military base. _Oh, boy, security galore._

There were no guards outside the base, so cover wasn't needed. "Got a plan, Flare?" I asked, looking up at the barbed wire on top of the wall and grimacing, _That's a good way to loose a couple body parts._

"Yeah, I think so," he said thoughtfully, "Dusty, can you sense any guards?" his eyes glowed blue as he looked through the wall with his Aura.

"Nothing."

"Good," he looked over at me, "Now, cut the wire with a Razor Leaf." When it was sliced, he had Dusty throw each of us over, starting with him, and ending with me. As I flew over the wall, I could tell something was wrong. Three dozen guards were waiting for me. As I landed, I was knocked over the head and forced into a sack. We had gone right into a trap.

**Flare's POV**

I watched helplessly, as Leaf and Star were caught and stuffed into a sack, the gag in my mouth preventing me from speech. I struggled against my bonds, but they wouldn't budge. _Dusty,_ I thought, _Whatever you do, don't jump._ unfortunately, he jumped, and landed unharmed. He walked over to me with a smirk, "You guys are so gullible." Shock filled me, soon replaced by anger, I summoned the fire inside me and burned through my gag. Spitting out burned fabric and sparks, I shot a stream of curses at him.

"Wow," he said, overriding me, "and I thought that gag was fireproof." swift as lightning, he punched me in the gut. I keeled over, still spitting curses.

"So," he continued, "You seem to be the leader in this mission, and I imagine Spiritomb would pay a hefty price for one of his legendary captains." I spat on his feet.

"You'd be better off killing me, he won't give you any money, there are others, others who will take my place."

A muscle bulged in his temple, "very well, take him to the dungeons." and he delivered an uppercut right to my face. The blow knocked me out.

**I sure do love my cliffhangers, don't I? until next time, and yes, I am still accepting OCs.**


	8. Jailbreak

**Okay, this chapter is a good 400 words longer than the last one, and it includes a big fight scene.**

The only thing I could feel was the pounding of my head, slowly, I cracked my eyes open, staring into a blinding light. I looked over to the side to see a Machamp, two hands holding a clipboard, one writing on it, and one scratching his head. He looked at me and saw my eyes open. Pressing a button next to him, he said into a speaker, "Test subject 7 is awake, administer a Hypnosis specialist to room 40." I struggled, but in my weakened state, I couldn't break my bonds. A minute later, a Hypno rushed in and waved his pendant in front of my face, I found myself staring at it, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

I awoke in a small cell, almost completely in the dark. I shifted my paw, and it plunged into a cold liquid. With a jerk, I backed up, and stood against the wall, when nothing jumped out of the darkness toward me, I conjured a small flame in my paw and looked around. The liquid turned out to be a bowl of soup and a loaf of bread on a tray. _They can't have a starving test subject, _I thought bitterly, before tearing a huge chunk out of the bread.

When I finished with the food, I sat down in the darkness and waited. I waited and waited, and nothing happened. I sighed, and flopped forward onto my stomach. There was a clunk. _My bag! They didn't take it!_ I pulled out the remote and pressed the button. "Spiritomb? This is Flare, I'm locked in a cell in the mafia's base, send reinforcements immediately, I seem to be their test subject, but I'm not sure what they've done yet."

Static, then laughter, and a condescending voice, obviously not Spiritomb's, "You'll never get out of here, subject 7, so you better get used to your cell."

The guards came that night, and hoisted me onto a cart, then strapped me down. One of the guards leered at me, and said condescendingly, "We've got something special planned for you, when we're finished, you'll be one of us." the other guard socked him in the face, and snarled, "don't give the prisoner information, you rookie!"

Rubbing his cheek, the young Machoke pushed me along, muttering about how unfair his life was. A plan began to form in my mind, and I said to the guard, "Wow, he's awfully rough on you."

"Tell me about it." he muttered, "If I make even one mistake, it's a beating for me."

I adopted an expression of concern, "Yikes, you must have a really hard time here."

"Yeah," he answered, "I'm not sure I even want to become one of Dusty's guards anymore."

"Then let me help you." he stiffened, and stopped pushing the cart. "You release these bonds, and then I'll pretend to escape, but I'll run right into your instructor, then I'll let you catch me, and he'll reward you greatly."

He frowned, and said, suspiciously, "How do I know you'll let me catch you?"

"Oh, come on," I laughed, "do you really think I could get out of here if I tried?"

"I guess not." he answered, reassured, and released me. With one fluid motion, I jumped off the cart, flipped in mid air, and brought an Iron Tail straight onto his head, knocking him out. I landed, and sped down the corridor, I was out of sight before he hit the floor. I was accosted by two guards, but before they could sound the alarm, I sped past them with a Flare Blitz, leaving them in smoking ashes. I ran into a room, to see a doctor reaching toward Star with a scalpel. I ran forward and grabbed the back of his head, slamming it into the ground. I grabbed the scalpel and severed Star's ropes, and together we raced down the long hallway.

"Where's Leaf?" I asked.

"This way, we shared a cell." she led me through a few rooms, and in a matter of minutes, after we had dismantled a few guards, I was prying open the door. Leaf rushed out and hugged me.

"Leaf," I said softly, "please get off me."

"Oh, sorry." once we were all situated and caught up, I told them my plan.

"Star, check our position." she closed her eyes, and her stone sparkled with light.

"Floor B5, surrounded by guards." as soon as she said this, the doors to the room blew open, and enemies rushed in. A Nidoking charged me, swinging his arm in a Dizzy Punch, but I formed a shield of fire around me, and the attack glanced off. I jumped at him, which he clearly wasn't expecting, considering the size and weight ratios, and slammed into his face. I plunged my paw into his eye, and he screamed in pain, shaking his head vigorously. Flipping off of his face, I fell for a split second before driving my back paws into his stomach, he toppled without a sound.

** Leaf**

I was fighting with a Rapidash, and I was winning, I had already scored three gashes on his flank from my Leaf Blades, and had Cut his face, tearing out several teeth. With a whinny of pain, he kicked out with his hooves, but I dodged, sending them into the wall. Vines grew around his legs, holding them, stuck in the plaster, he tugged, but more grew, circling up his legs and across his chest, he tried burning them, but I jumped up on his head, and wrapped more around his mouth. He could only watch as the vines covered him, then began to contract, I turned away from his screams of pain, and looked for my next enemy.

** Star**

I jumped, barely avoiding a Carnivine's head. On my way forward, I grabbed a vine with my teeth, and the momentum carried him forward, ripping it out. He turned, blood spouting from his side, and threw the remaining vine at me. With a flick of my thoughts, I deflected it, and with a snap of the other vine, wrapped it around his head and tore it off. I took the head, and slammed it into another guard's face, at the same time, I used my mind to whack a Rhydon in the back, causing him to fall over. Seconds later, the unfortunate Ursaring's face fell right into it, the fall cracking the Rhydon's horn in half. He jerked around, roaring, and I readied myself for a final attack, but before I could finish him off, Leaf bounded by and hit him square in the face with an Energy Ball.

"Hey!" I called, "That one was mine!" She stuck her tongue out, and bounded away, calling, "That's another one for me!" Grinning, despite myself, I caved in the skull of a Hariyama with one Psychic. It was on.

** Flare**

After a while, I could feel a vast difference in strength between the previous guards and the ones we fought now. _Apparently, the others were just a warm-up. _I was forced out of my thoughts by a Gallade's sword, at the touch of the blade, I leaped back, but it still sliced through my right front leg, scattering blood across the ground. "Shit! Leaf!" She turned to face me, still slapping a Kangaskhan across the face. "Cover me!" She nodded, and kicked the guard away, she ran over to me, and began fighting the Gallade.

I bit my lip, _I'm still not very good at this, but here goes._ I closed my eyes, and focused, focused on Wish. I could feel my leg closing up, and the tissue healing. I got up, and with a blast of flame, knocked the Gallade through the wall. I grinned at Leaf, who looked astounded, and ran back into battle.

The battle went on and on, and I amassed a collection of cuts and bruises that were too small to heal. Finally, the last one was dead, I looked down at the bodies, and Star walked up to me, shaking her head, "Holy crap, they must have sent the whole force after us!"

"Actually, we did," the voice came from nowhere, but I recognized it. "Dusty." I growled.

"What?" Leaf and Star looked confused, I sighed, "I'll tell you on the way to the control room."

**Well, that was fun. Just wanted to show you all how Leaf and Star fight. How can I help it? Fight scenes are just so much fun. :)**

**This just in: I have a poll on my author page, come check it out, people.**


	9. Dusty

**Okay, here you go, chapter 9. I know this one is a little short. But I wanted the next really important thing to happen in chapter 10.**

Blood. It splattered everywhere. Covering the floors and the walls, myself and my teammates. It obscured my vision and I wiped at it with my paw. The bloody corpse still gushing it's ruby torrents as it fell. The Feraligatr was hardly discernable beneath the horrible wounds. Grimly, I turned away from the horrible sight and concentrated upon my next opponent, still wiping the blood from my eyes.

**It's third person time.**

Dusty bared his teeth as he stared at the screen. "They still haven't been captured yet?" An unfortunate Piloswine was jabbed in the face as the Lucario released his anger. Dusty turned to face his lieutenant, a Dusclops and said, angrily, "Dusk, I want every doctor in the base to abandon their work and pursue those prisoners! Sound the alarms! This matter has become serious!"

**Back to Flare**

Although the guards were depleted, the doctors were doing an incredible job, each one having been trained as well. The Venosaur I grappled with managed to wrap a vine around my leg, and before I could burn it off, swung me in a tight circle. Dizziness enveloped me, and the world was turning into a blur. With a great effort, I sent fire through my leg, burning off the vine and sending me hurtling toward the wall. _Oh, shit._ But the impact I had expected didn't come. Using her mind, Star slowly let me down, and set me lightly on the floor. "Thanks!" I called, and then, "everyone gather around me!" Leaf and Star jumped to my side, and I began to charge power. The various pokemon advanced on us, but I ignored them, charging, charging. My eyes shot open, I opened my mouth, and spat out a gigantic fireball. It incinerated everything, traveling through the wall and burning everything in it's path. I almost collapsed from the power needed to do such a thing, but the girls caught me. As I stared up at their worried faces, one last thought occurred to me. _Tails would be in heaven right now…_ Then I blacked out.

When I awoke, Leaf and Star were fighting again, but this time, it was a lone Dusclops. With a yell, Leaf charged forward and sliced the pokemon across the face, but he was no longer there. Leaf spun around just in time to block a karate chop to the face. Shaking her paw, she backed up, and the Dusclops advanced. I struggled to my feet, and Star ran over to me, blood sheeting off her right leg. "Flare! You're awake, finally!" Her face was pale from the loss of blood, and she spoke in gasps.

"Here," I said, "let me heal that." I placed my paw over her leg and applied a Wish. I walked away from Star, who was recuperating, and shouted to the Dusclops, "Hey! Didn't anyone teach you not to hit girls?" He turned to me, eye glowing, and I shifted into a battle stance. Without warning, he fired off a shadow ball at me, and I jumped over it, five more soon followed, which I dispatched with a flamethrower. I ran at him, and launched myself into his face, jabbing a paw into his eye, and he recoiled, grabbing my tail with one hand and swatting at me with his other. I flew into the wall with a considerably loud crack, though nothing was broken. I shook off the rubble and launched a fireball at the Dusclops, who, surprisingly, caught it in his fist and crushed it, sending sparks flying everywhere.

As he walked forward, he cackled, and said, "Not good enough, Flare, you're only lucky we reinforced your body when you were our test subject, or that impact would have crushed every bone in your body."

"Really?" I asked, smirking, "you didn't think I'd escape, did you?" He growled, and charged, but I blocked his fist, jumped over his head, and delivered a bone jarring kick to his skull. Roaring, he collapsed, clutching his head, and I landed, spurting smoke from my mouth. I beckoned to Leaf and Star, who followed me through the Smokescreen. We crept up the stairs, dispatching the occasional doctor who stood in our path, and eventually made it to the control room. "You ready?" I whispered to Leaf and Star, and they nodded. Slowly, I pushed at the door, and it opened creakily. The room was flooded with light, and at the end stood Dusty, breathing heavily, surrounded by corpses. "Well," I said smugly, "looks like you got a little carried away."

He snarled at me, all former composure gone, and stepped forward, saying, "You! You won't supposed to get out! I was supposed to win! Me!"

"Sounds like someone blew a socket." I said coolly. I looked over at Leaf, "Want to sit this one out? This will probably be hard for you. She swallowed nervously, and said, "No… I can fight…"

"Good." I turned back to the crazed Lucario before me. "Dusty, Darkrai will come for you tonight!" And I charged.

The battle did not at all go as planned. For a nut, Dusty was an incredible fighter. The first charge he used Double Team, and we all charged into copies. I felt something hard slam into my neck, and pain lanced up my spine. I dug my claws into the ground, keeping me locked in position, I spun and sank my teeth into Dusty's hand. He shook me around, but I held on, and shot fire into the wound, charring him from the inside. He howled, and delivered a punch to my face, breaking my nose. I let go of his hand, and jumped back, holding my nose. He snarled at me, and shot an Aura Sphere at me. Before it reached me, it bounced off a purple shield and disappeared. Star had recovered from the Double Team, and had come to assist me. She launched herself at Dusty, using her mind to speed her up, reaching out with claws outstretched. At the same time, Leaf shot consecutive Energy balls at him, and I, adding to the already bone-crushing force of the attacks, shot a Fire Blast, with enough heat to crush steel.

Dusty, having no time to move, instead formed a green shield around him, protect. I nodded to Star, who nodded back, and adjusted her momentum so she would hit him later than our attacks. It worked perfectly, the Energy balls weakened his shield, the Fire Blast destroyed it, and did some damage, causing him to flinch, and, unable to dodge the next attack, Star slammed into him, the super effective causing massive damage. When the dust cleared, he barely stood, blood gushing from numerous wounds all over his body. He fell to his knees, which, upon contact with the rough ground, tore open more, coating the floor with a crimson spray. "How…" he croaked, "This isn't how he said it would be… I was supposed to win…"

"He?" I asked, my ears perking up, "Who? Tell me or I'll burn your body to ashes."

"No!" he rasped, stumbling back, bloody feet slipping on the floor, "My guards won't let you! They'll kill you! They'll kill you all!"

"Your guards are dead, Dusty, they can't help you now."

"Dusk!" he shouted, pitifully trying to stand, all the while crawling away, leaving a trail of blood, "Dusk! Your master calls you!"

"He's dead too, Dusty."

"No!" the Lucario almost sobbed, still trying to inch away from me, "He lied! He lied to me! He said I would win! You lied to me! Why? It's all your fault!" he shouted, turning to me.

"Dusty," I said, getting angry, "you have ten seconds to tell me his name or I'll burn you to a crisp!"

"Alright!" he sobbed, "don't kill me! His name… His name is S-" Dusty's proclamation was cut short as his own hand slapped over his mouth. Confusion enveloped me, _What is he doing?_ as soon as I thought this, Dusty began to quake, his hands shook, the one over his mouth slapping him several times, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he threw himself forward and wretched. I backed up, feeling a strange revulsion for him, even though it looked like he was dying. Bile mingling with the blood, It spread all around the destroyed room as Dusty continued to wretch. Slowly, he lifted his head, and said in a voice that was his own, but not entirely his, "Close call there, almost blew my cover." and I watched as his body began to change.

**No, you don't get to find out who he is. So stop asking**. **Oh, by the way, Demon Lord of Blood, if you're reading this, Your Oc will be used, but not for a few more chapters.**

**And now, a trivia question! (Thunder) fans of a certain Anime will know this. What anime character did basically the same thing in his last moments as Dusty? Please send your answer by PM, and if you were right, you could get a cookie! Or not. Probably not. You won't**. **Nope.**

**And before you go. I want to introduce a familiar face, remember the little Eevee from chapter two? Well, his name's Issac, say hi!**

**Issac: Eevee!**

**Me: Well, close enough, see you later.**

**Espeon Man, (And Issac,) signing off.  
**


	10. Heartbreak

**Okay, this is a heavy fight and Drama chapter. Not to mention long. 2,121 words without bold text. Ah, well, this is a very sad chapter, so brace yourself.**

Dusty began to convulse, bile still streaming from his open mouth, as he writhed against the floor. I was paralyzed, unable to move as I watched him in his horrible death throes. He gurgled out words no one could hear, then they were lost in the deluge of foam that poured from his throat. He reached his hands up to his throat, which had begun to bend backwards, and desperately tried to pull it forward, in a horrible race against death.

_Snap!_

Dusty's spine broke, and he collapsed, limp hands still clutching his throat, his neck bent completely backwards. We stood there, watching his prone form. "Well," said Star, "That was the creepiest thing I've ever seen." I stepped forward, then again, and again, until I was right in front of the body. I stared into it's pupils, and they stared back at me. They dilated. With a yell, I leapt backward, my orange fur standing on end. We stared at the body, and It blinked. Slowly, it lifted into the air. With a horrible cracking sound, the bones in his neck began to shift back together, and every last cut and scrape on his body was repaired. He righted himself, looked down at me from his elevated position, and sneered.

Slowly, a deep gurgling voice echoed from Dusty's mouth, this time, it was someone different entirely, "Ahh. Flare, Leaf. How pleasant that you could join me today."

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

He laughed, a horrible sound, like screeching metal, and said, "You don't recognize me? It's your old friend Dusty!"

I wasted no time. I summoned up the fire in my stomach, and let loose with a Fire Blast. He sneered again, but didn't move as the fire raged through him. The inferno stripped him down to the bones, but, as I watched, the skull's lower jaw dropped, and let out another screeching chuckle. Muscles and skin reformed around the bleached bones, forming once again, the shape of a Lucario.

With another laugh, he rushed forward, flying through the air like a Swellow. I jumped to the side just in time, but as I leaped, his outstretched arm caught me in the stomach. He drew me forward, and slammed me into Leaf, who he held in his other hand. Our skulls collided, and with a sickening crunch, Leaf went limp. Shaking the stars out of my eyes, I turned to face Dusty, and blew fire in his face. All in all it did nothing, the burnt skin flowing back together, and his hand slamming into my face, for a moment, everything went white. One thought kept me conscious through the pain. _I can't lose. I can't lose. I can't lose!_ Twisting, I shoved my tail in his face, blocking his eyes, and bringing my paw around to his head. It plunged right into his ear, and I could feel his eardrum burning, his brain overheating. With a yell, he threw me away from him, and I crashed into the wall. Thanks to my reinforced skeletal structure, the wall took more damage than I did.

I turned to face my opponent. He was coming, coming at a speed that seemed impossible. Holding the limp body of Star in his left hand, his face contorted into an insane smile. There was not enough time! Just not enough!

Blinding pain.

Falling to the ground, the Lucario removing his hand spike from my eye.

Everything going numb.

The world was becoming blurry.

Then, as I lay on the brink of death, I saw Dusty toss Star into a wall, crumbling it, letting the morning sun show.

Time seemed to stop.

Then, out of the darkness and the uncertainty and the pain, came a voice. A voice of power.

"Pathetic."

_Shut up._

"You know you can't deny it. You're weak!"

_I don't care._

"Ah, but you do! You do care! You care so much that it's eating you from the inside."

_Be quiet._

"I can give you power. Power beyond your wildest dreams. Don't you want that? Aren't you tempted? Don't you want to save your friends? What about Ice? How can she live without you? Don't you want to protect her?"

My will broke. _Yes! I do! But how? He's just too strong…_

A shadow formed in front of me, taking the shape of… _me!_ A Flareon with bright red eyes, long black fur, and a shifting mane of darkness. "Trust in me, my friend. I will not let you down. If you want power, then it shall be yours. Arise, Flare. The time is now." Everything went red.

** Star**

The moment I collided with the wall, everything went black. But not long after that, I began to feel pain. Slowly, I opened my sore eyes to see the morning sun streaming onto my broken form. However, as I watched, the white shards of bone sticking out from my leg shifted back into place, new skin forming over the fraction. Blearily, I lifted my head to look at where Flare had been standing. My heart almost stopped. Flare and Dusty were engaged in an epic struggle, Flare trying to hold Dusty's paws in place with his own front ones, while trying to get past the Lucario's defenses with his tail. My gaze shifted to the Flareon, it no longer seemed like Flare. His eyes were glowing as red as coals, his face twisted into a look of pure hatred, his fur even seemed to be crackling with energy, just like a Jolteon's crackles with electricity. As I watched, Dusty, with a wrench of his paw, knocked Flare off balance, and then struck him in the face, and then the stomach. I tried to move, but I wasn't completely healed, and the skin around my leg split again, and blood welled up in the wound. Desperately, my fevered brain came up with the one idea that might save us. Focusing all the power I had, I sent a mental shout toward the distance, _Spiritomb! We need help!_ Swaying from exhaustion, I collapsed, and blacked out.

** ?**

I leapt backwards, avoiding the Aura Sphere. A moment later I barely dodged his fist, grabbing hold of it and spinning him into the ground. All of the breath went out of him, and I took that opportunity to slam a paw into his stomach. He flipped backwards, and stood there, gasping. "I killed you. I saw the light leave your eyes! So why are you still here?" he growled at me. I smirked, and lifted a flaming paw, "you don't need to know." I flew forwards, and rammed my paw into his chest. But, as I did that, his fist connected with my face, and we both flew into the wall on opposite sides. I shook the dust off of my coat, and stood to face my opponent. The super effective had taken a lot out of him, I could tell, and he was staggering. I ran forward again, the energy around me forming into a ball of black fire, and shot towards Dusty. He recovered faster than I expected though, and was able to block my attack. We stood, I was engulfed in fire, trying to overcome his defense, he was holding his paws out in front of him, keeping me at bay. Finally, the balance seemed to shift, he was weakening, his palms growing bloody and blackened as the fire began to eat at his skin. I pressed forward, the blue skin of his paws burning away to be replaced by white bones, which quickly cracked, the fire began to move forward, burning up his body like a lump of wax. Eventually, when the fire had reached his chest, he sighed, and said, "A pity. I had such hopes for this one." and his resistance dissolved.

The ashes fell, coating the bloodstained ground with a black dust.

I reached deep inside me, and contacted the other, saying to him, "my job is done here, kid. Good luck. You'll need it." and then I faded back into the shadows, leaving just the Flareon, who toppled to the floor.

** Flare**

Once again, everything hurt. I stirred feebly, and muttered some words, and was just starting to recover when a body latched itself onto me. I opened my eyes to see Ice, hugging me so hard it hurt. "Hey," I croaked, and she lifted her head off my chest to look at me, eyes shining with happiness. She kissed me, and for a moment, everything was perfect, but when her foot shifted and she kicked one of my injuries, the pain was enormous. I seized up, and she jumped off me, alarmed, apologizing frantically while she healed it again with an Aqua Ring. I struggled into a sitting position, and, to my surprise, noticed it was nighttime. I had slept for a whole day! It took me a minute to be able to stand, but finally I managed it, and walked over to the sleeping form of Star. I shook her awake, and asked her, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she said, yawning, and peering at me oddly, "but you were the one with the wounds, I carried you out here, and Leaf, and you two were almost dead! How are you walking around?" I grinned, and said, "This is Ice," I motioned her over, "she's one of The Eradicators, and she healed us up."

"So it was you who sent the message?" she asked Star, and the Espeon nodded. I hugged Ice, and said, "Thanks, I know I can always count on you."

Star frowned, and spoke the words that would completely ruin my life. "I thought Leaf was your girlfriend. You were kissing her behind the wall, weren't you?"

My heart stopped. Ice pulled away and stared at me, eyes full of shock, pain, and anger. "What?" she shrieked, stepping towards me, "You were kissing Leaf? I thought you loved me! But no! It was just a sick ploy to get me into bed with you later! I haven't met a male yet who wasn't a slime ball, but I thought you'd prove me wrong! No, I see that now… You're just like every man in the world! I hate you!" And with those final words, she turned and stalked away, breaking into a run halfway through, her loud sobs echoing behind her. I stood frozen for a second, then ran after her, tears flying behind me, I followed her into the night.

The world had ended.

Nothing was worth it at all. Nothing.

My heart had broken. And with it, my will.

Everything was pointless, the world was pointless, life was pointless.

No matter what, I had sworn to myself, I would protect her, as the only truly important thing in my life.

The most precious person in my life had gone, and she had taken my heart with her.

I sank to my knees, tears flowing down my face, into my yellow mane, soaking it, and the fur below, with my sorrow.

Through my twisted mind, I heard a voice. A voice so beautiful it could only be coming from her. I took the only comfort I could in hearing her. One last time.

_Oceans apart day after day And I slowly go insane I hear your voice on the line, But it doesn't stop the pain If I see you next to never, How can we say forever? Wherever you go, Whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you. Whatever it takes, Or how my heart breaks, I will be right here waiting for you._

_I took for granted, all the times That I though would last. somehow I hear the laughter, I taste the tears But I can't get near you now. Oh, can't you see it baby You've got me goin' crazy Wherever you go Whatever you do I will be right here waiting for you Whatever it takes Or how my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you I wonder how we can survive This romance But in the end if I'm with you I'll take the chance Oh, can't you see it baby You've got me goin' crazy Wherever you go Whatever you do I will be right here waiting for you Whatever it takes Or how my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you. _

The last notes fading into the night, I lowered myself to the ground, staring up at the sky, as it began to rain.

**(Sigh,) sometimes I think I'm kind of mean to my characters. I got kind of sad writing this, and I know what's going to happen.**

**Issac: (ears drooping) Eevee...**

**Oh, well, poor Flare. The song used is _Right Here Waiting _by Richard Marx. :'(  
**


	11. Betrayal

**Here it is. Chapter 11. This is a major chapter. Half the plot hinges on it. I'm rather proud of it. A good 2,061 words. Here you go. Major thanks to Altoshipper51,Galalithial, shiny eevee4, and iRawr for continuously reviewing. Without further ado, enjoy the chapter to end all chapters.**

"Flare!"

I shifted.

"Flare! Answer me!"

I cracked open my eyes, and reached for my radio. "What?"

"What have you been doing? You and Ice have been gone for two days!"

"Spiritomb, I can't come back. Ice… she left…" nothing, then,

"Flare, what did I teach you? You should be loyal to your leader, and to your teammates. If Ice left The Eradicators, then she is a traitor, and you should not miss her. I can pardon you from missions for a few days to get over her, but I'll need you back at base, alright?"

I hesitated for a second, then said, "Fine."

I struggled upward, wincing as my sore muscles stretched. I looked around, taking in my surroundings. "Alright," I said to myself, "east is that way, so I have to go… this way." I ran through the plains, momentarily forgetting the terrible aching in my chest. The wind whipping by me soothing my soul and dulling my pain. I was almost sad when I reached the spot where I had teleported, and I stared at the sky, thinking. _Do I really want to leave, and go back to my ordinary life?_ I snorted, _yeah, ordinary._ My thoughts drifted to my parents, and the sensation of dull humor evaporated to be replaced by sadness. _What would I be doing now if they hadn't been killed? Definitely not this. I wonder what Mom would do if she could see me now…_ I winced, and immediately stopped thinking about that._ If she was as tough as I am, my life would be in jeopardy._ I grinned despite myself, _And I don't want to think about what Dad would do._ I shivered, _I really should stop thinking about that._

My thoughts were interrupted by a flying berry pit, which struck me on the cheek. I stood motionless, my cheek stinging, then slowly turned to the left, steaming. Two groups of Pokemon were snarling at each other a few yards away, and one of them, a Scizor, had just tossed the pit, but had missed, and they started arguing. "We found it, so it's ours!" the Scizor yelled at an Ursaring with a scar over his left eye, "do you think you can just take whatever you want from us?"

The Ursaring guffawed with laughter, then held his claws up to his face, and said, grinning, "I happen to be from the city's council, so yes, I can take whatever I want, for who would stop me? Not you, of course, you slum Pokemon will obey anyone just to get a few scraps of food!"

The Scizor growled, and shifted into a fighting stance, and everyone behind him did the same, "Us 'slum Pokemon' aren't going to take that from anyone! Our life is hell anyway, and we're not giving it up without a fight!"

I walked over to the group and said coolly, "What's the trouble, guys?" They all stared at me, and the Ursaring growled, "I'd watch what you call me, you're pretty confident for a measly three feet." a vein in my forehead throbbed, but I kept my cool, although it took me several seconds to be able to speak clearly, "I merely wanted to know what all the commotion was all about, and I do have some connection to higher-ups. They, I'm sure, would be interested if I told them that the slums are revolting."

The Scizor's gaze hardened, and for a moment, I thought my bluff hadn't worked, but he jerked a claw toward a lump of gray stone a few feet away. "We found that stone, but this 'official' took a fancy to it, and decided to rob us of what's rightfully ours." I walked over to it and inspected it's ridges, it truly was fascinating, because every ridge was dotted with holes. I squinted at one of the holes, then, as I watched it, It elongated, then shrunk, then elongated, over and over again, _It's breathing!_ I turned to the group again, and said, "This is not a stone. It's an egg." They both blinked, and said, "For what?"

As I opened my mouth to answer, a clear, pure voice swept over me, and my knees weakened.

_We're miles apart  
But you're in my heart  
I keep you with me everywhere I go_

_Momma I promise I'll be alright  
I'll write to say I love you every night  
I'm just tryin' to write the story of my life  
You know all about this dream I gotta chase  
I get a little closer everyday  
The Kanto region's not that far away  
I'm not that far away_

My trance was broken by something large hitting me in the back of the head. Rubbing the lump, I turned to face the egg, grumbling. I froze, and for a moment, I thought I was hallucinating, for sitting on the ground in front of me was a Jirachi! It looked up at me, a fragment of egg sticking to it's head, and smiled. My brain was working furiously, and seemed to be overheating, _This is a Jirachi, I can't leave it here with these two, they'll tear each other apart to get at it, and it could possibly be harmed in the scuffle. But... I know where Ice is, if I leave now, I could probably catch her before she goes too far... But, would she listen to me? I wouldn't, if I were her... _Unbidden, the words of Spiritomb rose up in my mind. _If Ice left The Eradicators, then she is a traitor, and you should not miss her._

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Ursaring take a step forward, and I made my choice. I snatched up the Jirachi and leaped forward, spinning around as the Ursaring's claws scored the ground where I had been standing seconds before. I regarded him with distaste, setting the Jirachi down and instructing it to not move. I reached into my bag, pulled out the radio, and said, "Spiritomb? This is Flare, I've located a Jirachi."

**"What?"**The shout was so loud it hurt my ears, and it was immediately followed by questions, but then, Spiritomb quieted down, and said, "just protect it until I get there." Static. I looked at the angry Ursaring and the bemused Scizor, and said, "Well, The Eradicators are taking custody of this Jirachi, good day." The Scizor stepped into my path, and said, "I don't think so. That's our Jirachi!" He lunged forward, I leaned to the side, grabbed his claw, and threw him into a Mamoswine on the Ursaring's side. All hell broke loose then, and I was the center of it, blowing fire all over the place, burning the field coal-black. I slid under the Ursaring, grabbing his tail, and jerked my head forward, yanking it out. Flipping backwards, I landed on his head, and twisted it with my paws. The crack was inaudible because of all the fighting going on, and I, with a huge effort, shoved the Ursaring forward, he fell on a Scyther that was trying to get at me with his blades. I torched an Abomasnow, and zipped past a Machamp, causing him to slam into a Hitmonlee. Things began to get worse after that, I acquired a stinging cut along my leg from a Gallade, and with his dying breath, a Quagsire doused me in a roaring Hydro Pump. I staggered as a Rampardos narrowly missed gutting me with his horns, and with a greater effort than last time, engulfed him in flames, and sent his body tumbling to the ground.

A Golem and a Magmar hurled a rock on fire at me, and I barely dodged it, slamming into a Gardevoir, and toppling her, I quickly finished her off, and jumped at the Magmar, claws slashing, he fell, and I turned toward the Golem. The boulders crashed to the ground, then his head, I picked one up, and hurled it at a Jynx, cracking her skull. I threw them all, but most missed, in my state of weakness, I had become inaccurate. A Roserade charged me, and I was too slow to react in time. Leaves as sharp as blades tore through me, and my blood ran down my legs, back, and face. I summoned up my last bit of energy, and razed everything around me with my strongest attack. Hellfire. Struggling Pokemon tried to run, only to be consumed by the hungry flames. The screams reverberated, the desperate final calls of those who were being obliterated. The fires died down, and then the smoke, and I collapsed, utterly spent. There were still two left standing, a Charizard, and the Scizor. The latter grinned, walked up next to me, and picked up the Jirachi, which screamed and kicked, but he ignored it. He placed a claw next to my neck, and said, "Thanks for getting rid of that nuisance, normally I'd let you go, but," he leaned close to me and said in my ear, "you took out most of my crew, and I don't forgive people who hurt my gang." His claw started to glow. "So long, runt."

***Warning!* This next paragraph is very graphic, those with weak hearts or have no liking of violence should skip this paragraph and move onto the next one. I better not get any flames about this, got it? Consider yourself warned.**

Then, when it seemed death had finally come, the world stopped. No, not the world, for I could still move, and the Scizor was quivering, the glow fading from his claw. He floated away, and into the sky, to float with his companion. Floating between them, was Spiritomb. He looked them over, and with a flick of his finger, the Charizard exploded, blood and organs mixing to form another Charizard with no skin, the beating heart clearly showing as he roared in agony. "Oh, shut up." The Charizard's mouth fell off, causing blood to spray out in ever-increasing amounts, until he went limp. Next, Spiritomb turned to the Scizor, and pulled out his eyes. His wings soon followed, and next, his claws were split down the middle, bent backwards as he writhed in pain. Unable to take any more of this, I closed my eyes, and tried not to listen to his horrible screams. There was another. And another, but this one was higher pitched. My stomach did cartwheels, and I threw up, trying not to imagine what horrible tortures Spiritomb was inflicting on the poor Scizor.

Finally, when the screams had stopped, I opened my eyes to see a pile of blood, guts and bones. The Pokemon had been utterly destroyed. Spiritomb floated over to the Jirachi and picked him up. He looked over at me and sighed, "Flare, you were so promising, a true shame."

"What?" I managed to croak, "you're not going to help me?"

"I have no further use for you, but take heart, you have done well. Think about that before you die." He laughed, a laugh that, for some reason, was familiar. He then turned to the kicking and screaming Jirachi, placed a hand on it's forehead, "There, there," he said in a mocking tone, "Sleep, my little one."

Memory surged into me, and suddenly, I was no longer there.

_Watching Smeargle's bones clatter to the floor, I ran toward them, but a hand closed around me. I was lifted to see the face of a demon, who placed his hand on my forehead and said, "There, there, sleep, my little one."_

Reality came roaring back. Spiritomb had gone, and he had taken the Jirachi with him. I had only minutes. Feeling as if I was trying to lift a mountain, I reached for my radio, and set the dial to Leaf.

"Leaf! Please pick up!"

"Flare? Where are you?"

"I don't have time to answer questions, just listen to me. Spiritomb killed my parents, your parents too, he kidnapped us to help him find a Jirachi, and now he has! I want you to escape, take everyone and leave. Build a resistance, bring down Spiritomb. And, Leaf? Can I give you my last request?"

I could tell Leaf was sobbing, but she answered, "Of course I will."

My vision was fading, I only had seconds left. "If you see Ice... tell her... I love her... with.. all... my... heart... please..."

The radio dropped from my limp paw, and I stared at the sky. As everything went black, I could almost see Darkrai descending to claim me. "Welcome," said the coming shadow, "Welcome, Flare."

**Well, that's the end of Flare. I took Galalithial's advice, and I decided to be kind of mean to my characters. He really deserved that cookie. Which he didn't get. :)**

**By the way, the song used was Not That Far Away by Jennette McCurdy. It's been modified to fit the mood. Some may think it's in the wrong place, but it seemed like the right song for Ice. It's actually a pretty sad song if you listen to it.**

**Issac: Eevee!**

**So, that's it for now.**

**Espeon Man, signing off.  
**


	12. War

**Okay, here we are. This is one month after the previous chapter took place, Leaf broke off from the Eradicators, and took everyone else with her. Now they are fighting a war against Spiritomb. Enjoy.**

"We were attacked, I was the only one who survived. Spiritomb now controls the Scyther's forest."

I ground my teeth, and said, "Thank you, that will do, I suggest you go see a medic immediately." As the ragged Gardevoir left my office, I looked down at the various reports, and picked up the one I had been reading before the scout came up.

_Supplies running low on Piloswine's Peak, request more berries. Reinforcements also needed, 15 died and 10 wounded from the last battle. Another medic needed, first one running himself ragged._

I ground my teeth again, the last report said the same thing, and the one after that, and so on. No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't match up with Spiritomb's forces. A voice buzzed through the intercom, breaking my train of thought, "Leaf, Tails is here to see you."

"Send him up."

The door opened, and in stepped a Ninetales, I briefly looked up at him, "Yes?"

He grinned, "Hello? It's me, Tails."

"Oh, yes," I said, still distracted by the reports, and not really hearing the Ninetales, I pressed the intercom button and said, "Did you send up Tails yet?"

"He should be in there already."

"No, the only one in here is a Nine..." The rest of my statement faded, and I looked up at the Ninetales, who was sitting on the floor with a huge grin plastered across his face.

"Tails?" I leaped out of my chair and walked over to him, and he knelt down to look in my eyes. "When did you evolve?"

"Halfway through the mission," he said, "You sent me to recover some Water stones, right? Well, it turns out that our scouts got that wrong, that base was chock full of Fire stones."

I ruffled his hair, and said, "Mission accomplished, nice job. What do you have planned for the rest of the day? I thought I'd take the day off and have dinner with some old friends."

Tails shuffled his paws, his grin getting wider, and said, "Sorry, I have some other arrangements."

Adopting a look of shock, I said, "No. Way. You have a date? It's the end of the world as we know it!"

He punched me playfully in the arm, blushing slightly, "Shut up. How could someone with my," he swept his hair backward, "Natural good looks," I raised an eyebrow, "not get a date when now I have evolved? They were practically lining up outside my door!"

"Uh huh. Now, who is the, uh... 'Lucky girl'?"

"A Ninetales named Blaze." he said, and winked, "And she is hotter than her name."

I shook my head, "Poor, poor Blaze."

**Flame**

"Achoo!" I sniffed and rubbed my nose. The harsh weather of Piloswine's Peak was definitely not for me. Through my numbness, I noticed the smell of burning fur, and looked down. My sneeze had ignited my leg, and the orange fur was burning away. I quickly put it out, and stood up, hoping to get the feeling back into my limbs with a little walk. I was at the mouth of the cave when I heard the shout.

"The supply trains are here!"

I called back into the cave, "Cinder, get up!" and I ran down the hill, not waiting for him. I followed the stream of Pokemon, and eventually came to a Machamp team carrying huge boxes of supplies. One of them smiled at me and held out his closed hand, "From Leaf." He opened his hand, and there in the middle of his huge palm was a Fire stone. My breath caught, and I tentatively reached out for the stone. A bolt of electricity slammed into the Machamp, and he flew sideways, the precious stone flying out of his hand. "Attack!" I yelled, jumping back to avoid another bolt, which singed the snow inches in front of me. I searched the sea of white for the Fire stone, but found nothing, and eventually was stopped by a blast of water that narrowly missed me.

"Shit!" I turned away from the Machamp's body, rushed up the hill, and ran into the maelstrom of battle that awaited me. I blasted a Golem off of an Ampharos, and ran over to him. "You okay?"

He got up, wincing, and said, "I've had worse." He stiffened, and fired off a Signal Beam above my head, frying the charging Golem behind me. "Thanks, Spark." I said, "I guess we're even."

He grinned, "Not for long!" and jumped away, I turned, and ran forward, leaping onto the back of a Frosslass. She snarled, and dealt me a few punches, but I held on, and I imbued my paws with fire, burning her back. Yelling, she bucked, and finally managed to throw me off. I landed hard, and three icicles followed me. I rolled, but one impaled me in the shoulder, and I was unable to stop my rotation. The ground drove the Ice deeper into my arm, and I could feel it scraping against bone. I collapsed, gasping. The Frosslass floated up to me, sneering, and readied another group of icicles.

"Hey, Flame!" I turned to see Stripe, our Kecleon spy, running toward me, and holding something red and shiny. The stone! With a mighty hurl, he threw it across the battlefield. With a massive effort, I rose and leaped for it, but I forgot about the icicle. My arm broke. I squeezed my eyes shut from the pain, and opened my mouth to cry out, but something flew into it. Energy surged through me, white hot and blazing. I fell to the ground, but I didn't collapse, I didn't feel a thing. I looked at myself, and a big smile spread across my face. I had evolved. I turned back to the stunned looking Frosslass, "Get ready, here I come." I ran forward, ramming into her and continuing forward, through several others, and ended at the end of the clearing, four Pokemon had been taken out at once. _Let's see how this works._ I summoned up the fire in my stomach, and it was added to by the Fire stone's energy.

I let loose, and fire spread everywhere, bending around my teammates, and burning up everyone else. I stood in the center of the carnage, looking around at my stunned friends. "Just be glad I'm here, or we would have lost." I walked around the bodies, slapping Spark in the back, "You owe me one again."

**Tails**

I picked up a berry, and ate it slowly, first the skin, then the inside, then nibbled around the pit. I glanced over at Blaze, and our eyes met. She blushed slightly, but held my gaze, and I took that opportunity to sneak a berry from her plate. "Hey!" she said, grinning, and slapped my paw, but I popped it into my mouth before she could take it. "And my last one too! Come on." I dropped some Poke onto the table and followed her out of the restaurant. As we walked, I looked over at her, and she at me. She smiled, and I reached over with one of my tails and put it around her shoulders. We walked up to her house, and when we reached the top step, I turned to her, and said, "Tonight was great, I hope we can do that again."

"Yeah," she replied, and shuffled her paws. When she looked up at me again, I could see what she was going to do, and I did the same. We both leaned forward, and our lips met. Our tails reached out toward each other and tied together. This was the most amazing sensation in the world, the feel of Blaze's lips on mine, one paw on her back, the other running through her hair. Finally, we parted, and she said, "Good night, Tails." She blushed again, leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "I love you." Slowly, she walked into her house and closed the door. I took one last look at her house, and set off down the street, pure happiness welling up inside me. _Finally, things are looking up!_

I woke to the sound of sirens. I rushed to the window, and saw flames, an endless mass of flames. The city was under attack. I threw open the window and jumped out, breaking into a run the moment I hit the ground. I followed the trail of smoke to the city square, and saw dozens of fire types burning everything around them. I ducked behind a building, and inspected the attackers. Here's where my training would come in handy.

**Leaf**

I ran around the corner, and saw them, around two dozen Houndooms spitting fireballs at the surrounding buildings. As I was about to give the command to attack, Tails jumped out from behind a wall and yelled, "Hey, you bastards! Stop burning the city!" When they all had turned to him, and to my great surprise, he shot a simple Ember at them, and it _missed._ I watched, dumbstruck, as the Houndoom in front sneered, and leaped forward. Three things happened at once. The other Houndooms suddenly started fighting amongst themselves, the one who had leaped fell right into a circle of previously invisible Will-O-Wisps, and burned to a crisp, and the fountain in the middle of the square that had been hit by Tails' ember exploded. Water splashed everywhere, breaking around the Protect shield Tails had put up around himself. I stared at him, _He took out two dozen soldiers by himself. If only we could have one Eradicator at each location, then we could at least hold our ground. _I thought back to the most recent report I had received, how Flame had swallowed a Fire stone and was now extraordinarily powerful. Suddenly, the answer clicked into place. The answer to our forces problem, this is how we would defeat Spiritomb! I flipped open my radio and called Sunny.

"Yeah, Leaf?"

"I want you to take every Arceus-damn radar we have and look around for stones. bring whoever you need, this mission takes top priority. Hurry, your speed could determine if we win or lose this war!"

"I'm on my way."

I turned off the radio and looked at Tails, I had a big question to ask him. I walked up to him and congratulated him on his victory, then said, "Sorry, I know this is a bit abrupt, but I have a mission for you."

"Sure, what?"

"I want you to find Flare's body."

**Well, well, well, another cliffhanger. Sorry, guys, I know I'm really late. I'm moving my posting date to Sunday, I just need more time. So, yeah.**

**Issac: Hi!**

**Yeah, he can sort-of talk now.**

**Issac: Pickle!**

**Uh... okay...  
**


	13. Life

**Yeah, I know, this is really late. You don't even want to know how busy my life has been lately. At least I updated it on Sunday. So, yeah, read it and stuff.**

I opened my eyes and stared out at the landscape, the plains that had been my home ever since I left Flare. I got up and stretched, turning to look at the thing that had captured my attention for the last month. The egg. As I stared at it, I thought of Flare, and tears filled my eyes. I had found his body, and despite his cheating on me, the sight nearly destroyed me. That night, however, as I sat on the cold floor, singing and mourning the Flareon I had loved, I felt a burning pain in my stomach. After two pain-filled minutes, the egg was laid. Flare's egg.

I walked over to it, and felt it, as I had done countless times before, It felt slightly warm, and it's breathing was regular. My stomach growled, and with one last look at it, I went in search of food. When I came back with several Oran berries in my teeth, I heard scuffling noises inside. The berries fell, and I ran into the cave. What I saw changed my life forever. Sitting in the middle of the shattered egg was, not an Eevee, but a Flareon. He looked up at me, eyes wide, and said, "Flare?" I stood, stunned, and we stared at each other. He broke into a wide grin, "Flare!" I rushed forward and hugged him. I heard a voice echo in my mind, a voice that could only be Arceus himself. "We have brought back his spirit, now it falls on you to protect it. Be brave, for the end of the war is near." With tears flowing down my face, I looked up at the heavens, and said, "Thank you... Arceus..."

**Leaf**

I entered the code on the keypad, and the door slid open. A Hypno greeted me, and led me into the chamber. "Ah, Miss Leaf. A pleasure." A Xatu walked over to me, "If I may ask, why have you visited our depart today?"

"Because I need a job done."

"Anything, Miss Leaf."

"Today, Tails will arrive here with Flare's dead body. As you know, the mafia of the slums performed experiments on him, fortifying his body with incredibly useful upgrades. His bone structure hopefully will remain unchanged, and I want everyone you can spare to inspect it. If you can duplicate the results on our own forces, our chances of winning will greatly increase."

The Xatu rubbed his beak, thinking, and asked, "And what if the experiments are potentially life-threatening?"

"Then we will only perform them on the willing."

He bowed, and said, "We will work harder than we have ever done."

I nodded, and left.

Five minutes after I had gotten situated in my office again, my assistant called over the intercom. "Leaf, a Kecleon spy is here to see you."

"Send him up."

The spy walked in, and he was carrying a large box filled with stones. Elemental stones. I jumped out of my chair, and placed the box on my desk, "Thank you, where are Sunny and the others?"

"we ran into some trouble along the way," he said, his eyes downcast, "She told me to take the stones and run. I don't know if they're still alive."

I put a paw on his shoulder, "I know Sunny, she's a lot tougher than she looks, I'll bet they've already won the fight and are marching back here right now."

**Sunny**

The spurt of fire missed me by inches, and a second later, I had to jump to avoid an Ice Beam. I grew a shield of vines around me, and the Thundershock bounced off. Unraveling it, I sent the vines spinning around, all the while absorbing energy from the sun. The energy faltered when I had to dodge a few Embers, but it kept growing, and finally, I lowered the vines, and performed my deadly combo. I fired my Solarbeam at a Light screen, which, with a loud crackle, shot it out in eight different directions. The attackers fell, blood streaming from their numerous wounds. I looked around, five of my soldiers were still alive, five, out of fourteen. I walked over to one of my teammates, A Meganium named Herb, who was wincing as he bandaged his leg. "You alright?"

"Yeah," he said, giving it one final tug, "Spiritomb really is fond of Gallades, six of them attacked me at once!"

"I don't see why he even kept us around if he was so fond of them."

Herb nodded grimly, and I moved on, checking the other three, as the medic rushed between them. I put a paw on the Togetic's shoulder, and he spun, tensing. "Relax." I told him, "It won't do us any good if you exhaust yourself." He nodded, and walked over to Herb, breathing deeply. I turned, and as I did, a sword extended out from the ground, and I felt a blinding pain in my leg. Vines lashed out from the ground, pulling on the sword until, with a loud crunch, it broke, leaving only a sharp stump in it's place. With a yell, yet another Gallade was hoisted into the air, arm spouting copious amounts of blood. I regarded him coolly, and asked, "Why Spiritomb keeps you around is a mystery to me. Personally, I've always hated Gallades." He growled and spat at my feet, but no, foot! I looked to the side, to see a speechless Togetic holding up my other foot. I looked back at him with new hatred, and the vines tightened, surprisingly, however, he showed no signs of pain, only sneered, and said condescendingly, "You don't scare me, Master Spiritomb will destroy you! He will burn your cities to the ground! No one is safe from his glorious rampage!" His laughter rang through the air, even as the vines tightened again, and pulled. Blood splattered my front, and I unconsciously licked around my mouth. The taste of iron coated my tongue, and I spat it out. Trying to contain my anger, I snatched my foot away from the medic and stormed out of the camp. The others watched me soundlessly as I limped away, using vines to support myself.

I had wanted peace, but it was not to be. Out of the tall grass came a rustle, then another, and another. I backed up, clenching my foot in my hand, and waited. The rustling grew louder, and so did my heartbeat, increasing in speed and power until it hammered against my ribs, threatening to burst out. I took another step back, and whatever it was got nearer, I could make out a shadow in the undergrowth, it's ice blue eyes just visible in the tall grass. With one last punch at my chest, my heart seemed to stop, as the figure sprang forward. The little Flareon leapt onto my face and scrabbled up onto my head, where it lay, purring happily. I reached up and grabbed his scruff, holding him in front of my face. He looked back at me and smiled, saying, "Flare!" I couldn't help but smile back, and I set him on the ground. "Where did you come from? Where are your parents?" I asked him, but he didn't answer, he was staring at my foot with a look of concern. Before I could assure him it was nothing, he stepped forward and took it from me. I wasn't sure why, but I let him. He placed it under my leg, and adjusted it so it was just right, he then closed his eyes, and his collar began to glow. A feeling of overwhelming bliss passed through me, and when I looked down again, the appendage was firmly in place, with not a single cut. I felt my leg, then looked up, and gave the young Flareon a hug.

"Flare!" called a voice, and I stiffened, _no way, here?_ I released him, and strained to see over the tall grass. Ice was picking her way through the grass, calling out the same name. "Hey! Ice!" I called, and she began to run forward, calling out, "Sunny? Is that you?" She came into view, and I asked, "Where have you been? Everyone's been really worried!"

She blinked, "Really? Why?"

"Don't you know? With the war going on and everything, we thought-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. What war?"

I stared at her. "You're kidding, right? It's only been going on for about a month."

"I've been here this whole time, and well-hidden, too, so I don't get any visitors." She began to pace, "Who's fighting who?"

"Well, it's been Spiritomb vs. the resistance against his rule."

She stopped, "Spiritomb? Must have been the one that was in contact with my father… Wait, you can't mean the leader of The Eradicators?"

"The one and only."

She frowned, confused, "But that means… No, that can't be right…"

"He was in contact with your father? But Spiritomb ordered his death."

Ice sat and rubbed her forehead. "This makes no sense. I remember, a Spiritomb used to visit our house all the time. Every time he came, my father would invent some new training exercise, and I would have to leave. One time, I snuck off, and listened outside my father's door, but…" She shivered, "he caught me, the punishment was awful…"

"What did you hear?"

"They were talking in low voices, so I didn't catch all of it, but first I heard my father speaking. 'So, how is our plan coming along?'

'We need some more time, the _other_ is not quite ready yet.'

'I do wish he would hurry up, my troops are getting quite restless just sitting here.'

'The day will come, one day, I will lead our people out of this wretched age!'

'Well, I can agree to that. Now, about the troops…' She paused, "I forget the next few lines, so I'll skip ahead."

'Is it that time already? I'm afraid I must get going, Shadow.'

'Can't you stay a little longer? Our chef has some excellent poffins baked for tonight, would you like to stay until they are done?'

'No, I must leave, there's work to be done, and I can't miss a minute longer. The coming of the new age requires much sacrifice.'

"Then he opened the door, and they found me." She finished. I was pacing now, my brain running over what she had told me. _Who is this mysterious 'other'? That must have been Spiritomb there, and he must have been talking with Shadow, there's no way Ice wouldn't recognize her father. _"Ice?" I asked, "What did the Spiritomb look like?"

"Let's see…" she frowned, "He had green eyes, and a bunch of green circles all over his neck."

I stopped pacing, and looked at her, "Neck?"

"Yeah, and they were all over his body, too."

I stared at her, _What is she talking about? Spiritomb's don't have bodies. Unless… _Then, they struck me. The revelation, and the blow. I was knocked off my feet, and the world went black.

**Ice**

Sunny keeled over, and I ducked, just as a blast of fire shot over my head. I turned, and sent a wave of water toward them. One of the unknown attackers hit the wave with a shadow ball, and it dissipated. I hit the ground with my paw, and water spouts erupted all over the plains. I saw a dozen enemies thrown into the air, but they weren't pokemon I recognized. I saw what looked like an egg with clouds around it and green wings. As I watched, it shot Razor leaves at me, and I just managed to dodge in time. _Because I've never seen these pokemon before, I can't tell what type it is!_

I glanced behind me, to check on Sunny, and I cried out. She and Flare were swiftly being dragged into the sky by a pink mist, she was floating limply, and he was struggling against the tendrils. I searched frantically for the cause of it, and my eyes settled on a small circular pokemon, almost obscured by mist. I used a Hydro Pump, and it smacked him right in the face. Dripping wet and extremely angry, he zoomed toward me, and I had to form a protect shield to guard against his whip-like mist.

I formed another water spout, and stood, as he got closer, closer… _Now!_ It erupted from right under me, and I shot into the air. With a yell of triumph, I slashed his astonished face with my claws. His scream echoed around me, the sound bouncing off walls. _Wait,_ I thought, _we're not in an enclosed space._

I looked around, and saw that the mist was drawing closer together, he was closing us in! Cutting off our oxygen supply! I looked at him, writhing in pain, then at the two figures floating in the mist. I made my choice. I jumped off of my water spout, and free-fell towards Sunny and Flare. I reached out, and grabbed Flare's paw. As we fell, I kissed him on the head, "Good luck, Flare. Go and finish what you started." With a mighty heave, I tossed him through the opening, just as the mist closed, and we were enveloped in darkness. I looked upward, "I'm sorry, Sunny." The ground rushed up to meet me.

**Good news, everybody! Guess who's coming in next chapter!**

**Issac: Me!**

**Don't tell them that! Ah, well, too late now. So, yeah, he's coming in next. Until next time.**

**Espeon Man, signing off.  
**


	14. Loss

**Hey, everybody, I'm back. I know it's been about forever, but I'm going to try and finish this story. I hope you haven't gotten bored with it. This isn't the longest chapter, (it's pretty short) but I figured I've kept you waiting long enough. I hope you like it. :)  
**

**Tails**

I raised my head and sniffed the air, his scent was still there, but it was very weak. If it rained one more time, the scent would disappear. I looked back at Blaze, who had chosen to accompany me on my mission, and asked, "You get anything? I can smell it, but I can't tell which way it's coming from."

She nodded, "I can sort of tell, I think it might be coming from the southwest."

I smiled, "I'm glad I brought you along." She blushed.

We walked through the grass until the stars were visible, and we agreed to stay for the night in a cave. Zero visibility didn't exactly help our search. When we reached the cave and had gotten comfortable, I glanced over at Blaze. She was staring back at me, and I whispered, "Blaze? Do you mind… if, well, I could sleep nearby? I'm… uh, kind of cold."

She grinned, "Sure."

I snuggled up next to her, but as I did so, she tensed up. "What?" I said, concerned, "It's like every time I get near you, you feel pain. What's the matter?"

She looked down, "No, I can't tell you."

I lifted her chin with a paw, "Oh, come on, I want to help, whatever's wrong, I will help you."

She stared at me uncertainly, then whispered into my ear, "Tails. I'm in heat."

A dark red flush spread across my face, "Oh, well… my offer to help still stands, I guess, so…" I trailed off.

Blaze's face was as red as mine, but it bore a relieved expression, "Would you?"

"Of course. Anything." I rolled her onto her back and pressed my lips against hers.

**Cinder**

I limped over to the Kangaskhan and patted her on the back, "Don't worry, a Medic is coming. Your baby will make it." I looked down into it's face, saw the bloody gash across it's forehead, and I turned away, nausea building up inside me. _Get a hold of yourself, Cinder! _I had always been sickened by the sight of blood, and the countless missions I had gone on had nearly destroyed me. I tried to mask my pain with humor, but now even that was beyond me. "Medic!" I yelled hoarsely across the burnt shell that was previously a town. The Clefable ran over, huffing and limping. "Whoa! Buddy!" I caught him as he stumbled, "You okay?"

He looked up at the Kangaskhan and a chime sounded out, soothing and calm. The medic slumped. I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears as I did with every casualty. I lifted him and placed him next to a bush that hadn't been charred. As I lifted my paws off of his prone form, I stared at the dark red mess covering them. _How many innocent pokemon have I murdered just so Spiritomb can rake in some extra cash…_

"Excuse me," I turned to look at the mother, "are you alright?"

"Y-yeah… I'm fine…" I turned away so she wouldn't see my tears and walked off. _If only I had never met that monster… Flare, I'm sorry, I don't think that I can keep fighting this war._

An explosion rattled the night, and another building went up in flame. Swearing, I ran off to the site.

The battle was in full swing when I arrived, and It was clear we were losing. A full squad of Gallades were quickly dispatching our remaining forces and sweeping towards the heart of the town. If they got to there, the territory was lost, not to mention the lives of all the townsfolk in the town center. I came roaring into battle cloaked in fire, the thought of the innocent townsfolk urging me on. I rolled into a ball and sped forward, feeling something crunch against my flaming form. I smashed the Gallade against the wall and roasted him as he tried to lift his arm. I spun him around, whacking another one in the face. I swung at him, but his staggering saved his life, and he scored my side with his sword. I turned, but he was already behind me. He slashed again, but my fist connected with the side of his head, and it flew off. For a second, I stared, appalled at what I had done. Then the condescending eyes of Spiritomb flashed back into my head. I took my sadness and fear, and I squashed it, covered it, drowned it with anger. Grabbing the headless body, I yanked the swords out, and charged forward with a roar that shook the ground. All around me, Gallades fell, bleeding, before my flaming swords. They fought back, some of them, lashing me with razor sharp blades. It didn't matter, pain didn't exist in my world. Anyone who came near me died, It was simple. I struck at every enemy as if they were Spiritomb themselves. And when it was finally over, I stood there, completely on fire, surrounded by the once living vessels of the pokemon I had killed. The tears fell, regardless of my fight to hold them back, as if daring me to wipe them away. Before I dissolved completely, I had to do my duty, to all I was in command of. I took out my radio, and called Leaf.

"Leaf."

"Cinder! Are you alright? Were you able to save the town?"

All of the space in my throat was taken up by a lump of metal.

"Cinder? What's wrong?"

I looked down at the sword protruding from my chest. Again, there was no pain, pain didn't exist in my world. There was only darkness and blood.

"Leaf, I'm dying."

"What?"

"I can't do this any more. I can survive wounds of the body. But… this killing is just too much. I'm coming apart at the seams, Leaf. Flare is dead, Ice is gone, we're losing everyone. Our family is dying, Leaf…"

My brain was foggy, why is it dying? What did this? The name spiked through me more than the sword had.

"SPIRITOMB!"

The world fizzled and turned red. The radio shattered as I clenched my fists, and I yanked the sword out of me with another roar. Blood spattered to the ground, red, like everything else. Nothing was clear anymore, it all blended together into a red mess. I rose to my feet, and tore off through the trees, searching, searching… searching…

The little Flareon tore through the grass, the angry shouts grew louder. "There he is! Catch him!" With a squeak of fright, he put on another burst of speed, little paws drumming the ground over and over and over. He looked back into the angry faces of his pursuers, they were getting closer. The grass became taller as he ran, and he was submerged In it's green depths as he continued to run. He raised his eyes to the night sky above and pleaded for help.

He tripped. The Rhydon in front stopped, and picked him up by the scruff. "Finally caught you."

**As always, R&R, please! I won't be able to keep up my usual schedule, but a new chapter should come every once in a while.**


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